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Re: Caldecott at 75: Diversity (or lack their of)
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From: Kiera Parrott <lea11k_at_gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 15 May 2013 18:40:47 -0400
Hi everyone,
This is fascinating. Thom's question, "What do we do with this information?" is the central piece for me. Since the criteria only concerns itself with r esidency requirements for the illustrator (and since considering the gender o r ethnic background of the artist would actually be a violation of the terms of the criteria) then what can we do? (Besides creating more awards.)
Having recently gone through the selection experience, I can speak for mysel f (not my fellow committee members or past committees.) When I personally lo oked at books during my term, I was concerned with 1) eligibility and 2) how the art, design, and story held up to the criteria. Oftentimes I wouldn't e ven look at the name of the author or illustrator until I wrote it in my not es. For me, it was purely about the merits of the art.
That said, it does trouble me when I look at Thom's numbers. It would seem t hat the major awards are a reflection of the times and the culture in which t hey are chosen. If we want more award-winning picture books by more women an d from a more diverse array of artists, I think we need to start at the very beginning. We need to begin valuing the arts again in schools. Children and young adults who have a talent & passion for art & design need to be nurtur ed. They need to be told that YES, you can have a career in the arts. So man y kids (especially those in lower socio-economic spheres) are discouraged fr om pursuing art as anything other than a hobby. There is a lot of misinforma tion about what it means to be a working artist or illustrator. Kids are tol d "that's not a real job" or "you'll never make any money."
That's clearly not a quick or easy solution! But if we in the public library treat art the way we treat book discussions and early literacy, perhaps we c an help do our part in nurturing young artists to pursue their passions.
Kiera
Kiera Parrott Head of Children's Services Darien Library, CT kparrott_at_darienlibrary.org Twitter: @libraryvoice
On May 15, 2013, at 4:41 PM, "Nick Glass (TeachingBooks.net)" wrote:
This is a very important topic and conversation. Thanks for the space for i t, CCBC.
Thom Barthelmess gave a fantastic and most memorable talk at Carthage Coll ege last fall called "Caldecott Culture: Looking Back on their Diversity (or lack thereof)". He acknowledged at the beginning of his talk that his data w as unofficial research, and not ready for publication. He categorized to the best of his ability the gender and race of all winners and honorees in the f irst 75 years of the Caldecottt, and knows that his data isn't fully accurat e since he was identifying culture of individuals without their own self-ide ntification. So please know that my notes below from his talk are based on u nofficial research that Thom acknowledged was an early investigation and not ready for publication.
That said, I found his presentation to be so revealing that I still have m y notes.
322 medal and honor winners recognized for 310 medal and honor books
63% male
87% caucasian
He broke it up by 25-year-periods, and more women were recognized in the e arly years.
The last medal or honoree who is not a caucasian man, caucasian women, or a frican american male was David Diaz in 1995.
12 times all the medalists and honorees were men. Only 2 times were all th e medalists and honorees women.
He ended the presentation with questions about what to do with this inform ation. Lots of them. And the room was ablaze with conversation, as I'm sure t his conversation will be.
Nick
_______
Received on Wed 15 May 2013 06:40:47 PM CDT
Date: Wed, 15 May 2013 18:40:47 -0400
Hi everyone,
This is fascinating. Thom's question, "What do we do with this information?" is the central piece for me. Since the criteria only concerns itself with r esidency requirements for the illustrator (and since considering the gender o r ethnic background of the artist would actually be a violation of the terms of the criteria) then what can we do? (Besides creating more awards.)
Having recently gone through the selection experience, I can speak for mysel f (not my fellow committee members or past committees.) When I personally lo oked at books during my term, I was concerned with 1) eligibility and 2) how the art, design, and story held up to the criteria. Oftentimes I wouldn't e ven look at the name of the author or illustrator until I wrote it in my not es. For me, it was purely about the merits of the art.
That said, it does trouble me when I look at Thom's numbers. It would seem t hat the major awards are a reflection of the times and the culture in which t hey are chosen. If we want more award-winning picture books by more women an d from a more diverse array of artists, I think we need to start at the very beginning. We need to begin valuing the arts again in schools. Children and young adults who have a talent & passion for art & design need to be nurtur ed. They need to be told that YES, you can have a career in the arts. So man y kids (especially those in lower socio-economic spheres) are discouraged fr om pursuing art as anything other than a hobby. There is a lot of misinforma tion about what it means to be a working artist or illustrator. Kids are tol d "that's not a real job" or "you'll never make any money."
That's clearly not a quick or easy solution! But if we in the public library treat art the way we treat book discussions and early literacy, perhaps we c an help do our part in nurturing young artists to pursue their passions.
Kiera
Kiera Parrott Head of Children's Services Darien Library, CT kparrott_at_darienlibrary.org Twitter: @libraryvoice
On May 15, 2013, at 4:41 PM, "Nick Glass (TeachingBooks.net)" wrote:
This is a very important topic and conversation. Thanks for the space for i t, CCBC.
Thom Barthelmess gave a fantastic and most memorable talk at Carthage Coll ege last fall called "Caldecott Culture: Looking Back on their Diversity (or lack thereof)". He acknowledged at the beginning of his talk that his data w as unofficial research, and not ready for publication. He categorized to the best of his ability the gender and race of all winners and honorees in the f irst 75 years of the Caldecottt, and knows that his data isn't fully accurat e since he was identifying culture of individuals without their own self-ide ntification. So please know that my notes below from his talk are based on u nofficial research that Thom acknowledged was an early investigation and not ready for publication.
That said, I found his presentation to be so revealing that I still have m y notes.
322 medal and honor winners recognized for 310 medal and honor books
63% male
87% caucasian
He broke it up by 25-year-periods, and more women were recognized in the e arly years.
The last medal or honoree who is not a caucasian man, caucasian women, or a frican american male was David Diaz in 1995.
12 times all the medalists and honorees were men. Only 2 times were all th e medalists and honorees women.
He ended the presentation with questions about what to do with this inform ation. Lots of them. And the room was ablaze with conversation, as I'm sure t his conversation will be.
Nick
_______
Received on Wed 15 May 2013 06:40:47 PM CDT
