“IT WAS AWESOME!!! Please do it again!.”
“I got to meet people who have as much of a passion for writing and poetry as I do, which made me super happy.”
“I FELT LIKE I BELONGED.”
ChiTeen Lit Fest
“I felt that this Festival helped to reignite my love for poetry and creative writing.”
TEEN COUNCIL REPORT
2015-2016
Contents 1 Overall 3 Outreach 4 Programming
5 Experiences 6 Program Snapshots
8 Logistics 8 Statistics
10 Branding
10 Teen Advisory and Branding Team 11 Social Media 12 Kickoff
13 Photos
Overall What Was Your Favorite Workshop or Panel? “The gender panel. It was interesting and very detailed. I could relate to them.” — Uplift Community High School Student, 17
“Theatre in Action because it was very hands on and the instructor talked and taught in a very understandable way.” — Caruso Middle School Student, 14
“I loved the ChiTeen Showcase! It was amazing to see how much talent there is among the many teens of Chicago” — Homewood-Flossmoor High School Student, 16
“I liked the gender and sexuality panel due to the diversity on the panel. There were various answers and experiences for each person.” — Kenwood Academy Student, 15
“Social Justice because it talked about important issues such as oppression that need to be addressed.” — Whitney Young High School Student, 15
“I loved the banned books panel, because the speakers there had a lot of really cool stuff to say about the idea of freedom of information vs. human rights and how we need to be accepting of each other.” — Homeschool Student, 16
What We Learned Overall, people enjoyed the festival because they liked meeting new people who were like-minded. In the pre-survey we issued to our fellow teens, we learned about the types of programs and topics they wanted to see. For instance, there was a request for a banned books workshop. When we surveyed teens after the festival, teens responsed that they enjoyed it. Gender and Sexuality was not a topic teens originally requested, but felt it was important to include. Over 30 teens attended the panel, and many shared that they enjoyed it.
Overall Teen Experiences “I enjoyed meeting new people who had similar interests. The speakers were insightful and genuine.” — Northside College Prep Student, 14
“I had a great time! Way more than I thought I would, I learned a lot from the panel and workshop I attended and I felt that this Festival helped to reignite my love for poetry and creative writing.” — J. Sterling Morton West High School Student, 16
“I loved listening to all of the experienced writers, publishers, and comedians talk.” — British International School of Chicago South Loop Student, 13
“I thought it was different and new.” — Lincoln Park High School Student, 17
“I was impressed by the guests, who all seemed thoughtful, intelligent, and genuinely glad to be in attendance.” — Northside College Prep Student, 14
“My experience was sensational. From the energy of the people who checked me into the panels. It was all great,really enjoyed myself and would love to come again.” — Quest Charter Academy Student, 17
ChiTeen Lit Fest Teen Council Report
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Outreach Methods Used:
Suggestions For Next Year:
• • • • • •
• Promote earlier and participate inschool assemblies • Hand out fliers outside of schools • Create T-shirts • Use more social media and CTA advertisements • Come up with a slogan • Create Facebook event earlier and invite more people
Posters/Flyers Billboards Surveys Literary Contests Teen Ambassadors Preview Event
Social Media Followers: • Instagram: 187 • Facebook: 483 • Twitter: 492
Most effective Promo Tool: • Chicago Public Library • School • Billboard/Poster
ChiTeen Lit Fest Teen Council Report
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Programming Programming Committee Leading up to the festival, the programming committee was responsible for various aspects of planning the festival such as scheduling activities at the kickoff party and festival, designing workshops and panels, booking authors, and planning other festival activities.
Workshop and Panel Reflections Students felt that the Him, Her, They, We Write: Gender and Sexuality panel was very intimate, accepting, and informative. In the Intro to Comics Workshop with Corinne Mucha, students learned about the basics of comics, but were also inspired and given ideas for doing their own unique work. Students especially enjoyed an exercise in this workshop that involved drawing themselves in different ways because it gave them perspective on their self-perception. Festival attendees found the Got It Covered: Publishing Your Writing panel very enjoyable and informative, and said that they received “good information on how to publish my book and poems.”
“I think that everyone involved did an excellent job. I hope that the festival becomes an enduring tradition.”
Students were very enthusiastic about the ChiTeen Showcase, the festival’s open-mic, because it gave them an opportunity to see the talent among the teens of Chicago. Teens found the Make Your Move all teen panel very enjoyable, and felt that they were really able to connect with the speakers and learn more information that is useful for their own writing.
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Chicago Public Library
Teens would like to have a more diverse selection of workshops, including more having to do with art, poetry and fashion. A literary analysis workshop could also be a good idea to have more content for people who are more readers than writers.
Experiences Student Experiences
Recommendations
Students described the experience as “sensational” because of the energy of everybody working there, as well as, the artists and audience.
Presenters and students would prefer if the festival extended over a longer time span so as not to have so many competing events.
One student felt that the festival greatly exceeded their expectations, and were impressed that they learned a lot from the panel and workshop they attended. This student felt that “this festival helped to reignite my love for poetry and creative writing.”
Presenters would like to meet their fellow panelists before the panel begins, as well as, get a better idea of what the panel will be like by receiving more information about the questions that would be asked.
Students enjoyed the experience of getting to hear well known writers, publishers, and comedians. They were impressed that the guests were thoughtful, intelligent, and enthusiastic, and saw that as one of the highlights of the festival. Students felt that the festival embodied its mission of being a safe space for the literary arts, and having an overall positive atmosphere. One attendee described it as a place where “I felt like I belonged.”
One possibility for improving panels is to add questions submitted from social media before or during the panel, or texting during the panel in order to get more audience input and engage a wider range of teens in the panel. The experience of both presenters and attendees could be improved by a meet and greet opportunity before panels to give students and presenters the opportunity to interact more.
Presenter Experiences Presenters were glad to have the opportunity to interact with teens, and were impressed with the professionalism of all the teens working at the Lit Fest. Some presenters were very impressed with the preparedness of teen liaisons, but experiences were varied. Others commented that teen panel moderators seemed nervous or awkward. Presenters enjoyed the experience, and hope that the festival becomes “an enduring tradition.” Presenters were impressed with the communication before the festival, and felt that it was continuous, timely, and effective.
ChiTeen Lit Fest Teen Council Report
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Program Snapshots
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Attendance COMIC WRITING W/ CORRINE MUCHA
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Attendance COMEDY GOLD: IMPROV & COMEDY WRITING
MAKE YOUR MOVE: ALL TEEN PANEL
HIM, HER, THEY, WE WRITE: GENDER & SEXUALITY IN WRITING
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Chicago Public Library
57
Attendance
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Attendance
CHITEEN SHOWCASE
97
Attendance
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Attendance GOT IT COVERED: PUBLISHING YOUR WORK
HEADLINER WORKSHOP W/RHYMEFEST
LOST AND FOUND POETRY W/KUSH THOMPSON
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Attendance
30
Attendance
ChiTeen Lit Fest Teen Council Report
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Logistics Logistics Committee The logistics committee planned and implemented the specific details about the flow and experience of the festival. The logistics committee was responsible for selecting details for the party, managing the guest lists, and coordinating festival activities.
Stats and Logistics The Kick-Off Party & Festival Day The Kick-Off party took place Friday night in the Winter Garden of the Harold Washington Library Center. Teens would like to have a more diverse selection of workshops, including more having to do with art, poetry and fashion. Food was relatively diverse and provided main dishes, desserts, and drinks. Tables and chairs were spread around the whole space, leaving room for a dance floor and a stage for the DJ and headliners. We created centerpieces with our main theme of black, blue and red colors. On Saturday, we provided programs that consisted of a map of where the buildings were and a schedule of all the workshops and panels. We used 3 buildings in total at Columbia College Chicago. There were both elevators and stairs. Bathrooms were not hard to find and we had staff to help direct
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What We Learned
Recommendations
Many attendees felt that the scheduling was a bit overlapping and they didn’t like the idea of having so many panels/workshops operating at the same time. Finding the buildings were fine, but finding the rooms was a bit difficult. Many suggested having the programs all in one building. Many teens were advocating for the idea of a bigger venue. Some workshops and panels overflowed with attendees. There were no complaints on the food.
More space will be needed (bigger rooms/building).
• Breakdown of Attendees: 60% female 40% male.
Organize the time slots better so the audience will not have to choose between panels. More maps and clearer directions to each room will be helpful, so the attendees do not get lost. More panels with different genres will help attract a diverse audience. Separate festival into two days rather than one, since many teens couldn’t attend all of the programs they wished to attend.
• Festival Ratings (Out of 10): Friday - 8.75; Saturday - 8.35
ChiTeen Lit Fest Teen Council Report
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Branding Teen Advisory Council and Branding Team In July & September of 2015, 20 teens were selected for the Teen Advisory Council and Branding Team to develop the first ChiTeen Lit Fest. In preparation for the festival, we started with a walkthrough of the spaces for each event, the kick-off party and the festival at Columbia College Chicago. During the walkthroughs, we brainstormed ideas about what could go where, and made diagrams. Next, we worked on our mission statement for the festival, what we wanted the festival to say to teens. As part of our work, we created individual council member bios, and a website where we posted our mission statement and updates, including other social media and their links. Early on, we designed surveys to get an idea of what teens wanted to see at the fest, i.e. what type of workshops, food, and performances, travel time to a downtown location, amount of money teens might spend at a fest, etc., and even suggestions for a name. We started to e-mail possible headliners and panelists in the local area and invited them to participate in the festival workshops, as well as, search for local restaurants that might be able to provide food donations.
“We started to recruit Teen Ambassadors, who promoted the ChiTeen Lit Fest in their schools and communities.�
The Branding Team created graphic designs, our website, billboards, and video content for public promotion and on social media. We also recruited Teen Ambassadors who promoted the ChiTeen Lit Fest in their schools and communities, as well as, created digital content for the website. They also launched our podcast series.
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Chicago Public Library
Teens registered for the evening through our Splashthat page which we also designed. It not only included festival information, but the names and photos of presenters, as well. Throughout this process, the Adult Advisory Committee helped us be realistic about our goals and handle the more complicated aspects of planning the fest.
Fri 4/15/16 KICKOFF PARTY! 6 p.m. - 10 p.m.
April 15-16 CYPHERS
POETRY READINGS
PERFORMANCES DISCUSSIONS
Harold Washington Library Center 400 S. State St.
The ChiTeen Lit Fest is a two-day for-teens-by-teens literary festival that celebrates their talents as they express themselves through exceptional and honest art.
@chiteenlitfest
Chi Teen lit Fest
@chiteenlitfest
chiteenlitfest.org
Sat 4/16/16 FESTIvAl DAY! 11 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Columbia College Chicago
618 S. Michigan Ave.
THIS PROjECT IS SUPPORTED bY
Register for free at chiteenlitfest.org
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Social Media
The Branding Team created a series of images and graphics to develop a logo and social media strategy to promote the festival, and literacy in general.
ChiTeen Lit Fest Teen Council Report
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Kickoff Showcasing Chicago teens was important to us, even leading up to the festival. Writer of the Week was our weekly feature of Chicago teen writing. Teens were able to submit poetry, fiction, essay, and more for publication on the website. Closer to the festival, we opened nominations for Teen Spotlights, where teens were able to nominate teen writers and artists to be featured in short videos created by the Branding Team.
The Teen Advisory Council and Branding Team were not afraid to get our hands dirty. We used wheat pasting to create unique center piece designs using mason jars, cutouts of magazines and comics, and flameless candles. We even created our own confetti.
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Schedule for the Friday Night Kick-Off Party 5:00 p.m.: Set up of tables, photo booth and DJ 6:00 p.m.: Doors opened 7:30 p.m.: Headliner Q&A 9:00 p.m.: Featured teen performance 10:00 p.m.: We cleaned up *There was lot of dancing and great food.
Photos ChiTeen Lit Fest Early Preview & Kickoff Party
Snapshots of headliner panelists, Teen Showcase and workshops
Che “Rhymefest” Smith in lyric writing workshop
ChiTeen Lit Fest Teen Council Report
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Thank You . . . to our partners Chicago Public Library Columbia College Chicago Center for Access and Success Kuumba Lynx Poetry Foundation UIC College of Education After School Matters We’d also like to thank all the presenters, headliners, volunteers, vendors and especially our fellow teens for all of your support The ChiTeen Lit Fest was made possible with the support of the Hive Chicago Fund for Connected Learning through the Chicago Community Trust and the Chicago Public Library Foundation.
We Can’t wait for ChiTeen Lit Fest 2017!