Bikes for Kids Wisconsin, an organization dedicated to increasing the use of bicycle-based transportation for underserved communities, has started a new educational program called Pedals and Pixels. The Madison-area nonprofit will host its first annual Pedals and Pixels Showcase Gallery Event on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 6-8 p.m. at Madison’s Youth Arts Center on Madison’s East Side.
Pedals and Pixels is a collaborative summer workshop led by Bikes for Kids Wisconsin in partnership with Black Girl Magic Educational Services, facilitated by Heather Von Oesen Dean of Creative Across the Curriculum. The program is geared toward addressing the persistent inequities of a lack of diversity and gender inequities in cycling. Rosa Thompson, founder of Black Girl Magic Educational Services, Inc., and Kristie GoForth, executive director of Bikes for Kids Wisconsin, are co-facilitators of the program.
“This program is empowering for participants, enlightening for viewers, and inspiring for everyone,” said GoForth in a press release.. “As both a biker and an artist, I believe deeply in the power of art to communicate what words sometimes can’t. Girls, especially girls of color, continue to face real barriers to biking, and I’m thrilled to see this creative, meaningful approach helping to break those down.”
As part of the program, 10 middle school girls are participating in creative writing lessons, photography lessons, and guided bike rides throughout the summer. Each girl receives a bicycle, a digital camera, and a journal as part of the program. They will document their experiences of what their bikes meant to them over the summer through creative writing and photography.
Their works will be on display at the Showcase Gallery Event on Aug. 20. The gallery opens at 6 p.m. and the program will begin at 6:45 p.m.
