This Wednesday from noon to 1:30pm, SexEd Collab students, lead by Liz Slagus and Norene Leddy—co-curators of the SexEd  project (currently installed via the “SexEd: Chapter 1” exhibition at Cuchifritos Gallery )and co-teachers of the SexEd Collab at Parsons, will be publicly screening as part of “Bag it Up,” a SexEd lunchtime program at the gallery. The students were asked to 
participate in the SexEd project YouTube video call,
“YouwishyouwouldhaveknownTube,” which asks participants to answer the
 question: “What do you wish someone would have taught or told you about 
sex?” Read on to find out more from the individual Collab students about their work and class experience, and please join them tomorrow to see their sketches and storyboards come to life on screen.

Wednesday, February 27th
Guest critic and artist talk: Rebecca Herman 11pm-12pm
“Bag It Up” Video Screening by Parsons SexEd Collab class 12pm-1:30pm
Cuchifritos Gallery
 (located inside the Essex Market)
120 Essex Street 
New York, NY 10002

SexEd Collab Student Statements:

Glenn Boozan:
As a 23-year-old woman who has attended both public and liberal
 private schools, it’s crazy to me that I’m still learning very basic
 concepts about sex. This class has been a real eye-opener, in terms of 
both my own sexual education and how poorly the American public school 
system’s sex ed program is structured.

Emily Lewis:
The idea for my current video in Sexed came from my own experiences
 with sex, seeing so many people getting treated badly, and these are 
things I want my seven-year-old daughter to know!

Amalia McCallister:
For my SexEd YouTube video, I’m using the currently familiar format of
 the computer desktop. I intend to dissect the effect of digital sexual
 imagery on sexual attitudes and practices. It is my goal to close the 
gap between the stoic and often uninformative world of school-based 
sex education and the over-produced, glossy world of online porn and
 sexual imagery. The outcome will be a guided critique of
 Internet-informed sexual 
knowledge and attitudes.

Bryan Ribeiro / Alexis Bryant:
Our video is about a female student attempting her first nude modeling 
and the trials she goes through up until the day of.  This class is extremely
 important since it discusses a subject Americans can’t seem to
 confront or don’t know how to confront.

Natasha Villarranga:
My experience in Collab: Sex Ed has been therapeutic and definitely is 
in line with my field of interest, which is graphic design and
 feminist art. My current video project attempts to debunk the myth 
that a woman’s sexuality is her only power by appropriating videos from 
the ’60s and ’80s and by addressing a woman’s need to take control of 
her own desires.

Gabrielle Madden:
For my video project, “The Crotch Files,” I interviewed five of my 
friends from The New School about the early stages of their sexual
 development, particularly focusing on masturbation.  The camera is 
focused on their crotch area, making it seem as if it is speaking to
 the camera.  The interviewees explain their experiences and feelings 
not only through the audio, but the placement of their hands and body
 language as they speak. 

SexEd has opened my eyes to many of the issues within the sex 
education system in the United States. It has inspired not only my 
views on social change, but truly connects it to the idea of solving 
problems through an artistic means.

Lola Martinez / Ashley Goeller:
We are making a video to introduce children to the spectrum of sexual
 identity in a way that is understandable and relatable to them.

About the SexEd project and SexEd Collab:

SexEd is an ongoing quest to expose the current state of sexual education in the US, encourage a public discourse around the topics of sexual health and education, and develop a sex education curriculum that is artist-inspired and community-based—something currently not in existence in the United States. The first
 stage of the SexEd project, “SexEd: Chapter 1”, is an exhibition 
currently on view at Cuchifritos Gallery, (February 9-March 10, 2013).