The Roof is on Fire

The Roof is on Fire exploits the ignorance, but also the desire to understand young adults and the challenging issues they face in their society and/or community. These issues share the same level of importance to those of adults sharing the same space as them. They achieved this through the simple act of speaking unfiltered while in open windowed cars. They speak on topics relevant to their lives, and it truly was eye opening for the viewers since they really have had no prior way to access this intake of perspective prior to this experience. They discussed topics of sex, abortion, race, and many more through their own eyes and experiences being kept in play and within context. Adults of varying ages learned just a snippet of the headspace belonging to the youth, and looked to have had a very genuine appreciation and want to help further their growth and excellence in any way they can.

I felt that this method was extremely effective because typically teens tend to restrain their input and expression while under the belief that their voice is invalidated by societal structuring. The true success of this installation relied heavily on the effort put forth by the students, which they clearly took seriously as this is a hot topic and important point for them to collectively make. They knew this was an opportunity to shape the way their voices were viewed and recognized in future developments. While the stakes were intense, they truly did this with ease as they were speaking directly from the heart.