Artists & Communities Archive
2003 Projects
Baltimore Clayworks,
Baltimore, MD
Leroy Johnson, Philadelphia, PA
Baltimore Clayworks organized
a six month residency for Philadelphia visual artist Leroy
Johnson to create new work in clay and
other media and to provide visual arts activities, including
a public artwork, with youth and adults who are attached to
the St. Frances Academy Community Center in East Baltimore.
St. Francis Academy is the oldest African-American educational
institution in the United States, dating from 1828. In 2002,
the Academy opened a 33,000 square foot community center and
entered into a long-term partnership with Clayworks, offering
classes and projects for elementary and middle school children
in this economically depressed neighborhood.
Baltimore Clayworks,
Baltimore, MD
David MacDonald, Syracuse, NY
Baltimore Clayworks organized Urban Crossroads,
a residency and outreach project with Syracuse (NY) University
ceramics
professor David MacDonald. Sited at Mondawmin Mall, a major
transportation hub and retail mall in Baltimore, the residency
created the opportunity to directly engage a strong and
developing African American community in creative activities
and practical
skill building, while testing the feasibility of a permanent
location for a Baltimore Clayworks satellite studio and
gallery in this under-served community.
Center for Exploratory
and Perceptual Art, Inc., Buffalo, NY
Martin Kruck, Jersey City, NJ
Jersey City artist Martin Kruck
mentored a group of middle and high schools students through
CEPA's ArtWorks program,
during a six-week residency in Buffalo, NY. Together they
created a new body of work investigating the gray zone
between real and artificial, perceived and imagined images
of their
community, lives and histories. Through photography, collage,
and computer imaging they created art books and bus panels
for installation on city buses as part of Buffalo's Metro
Bus Show, the longest running public art initiative of
its kind in the nation.
Center for Exploratory and Perceptual
Art, Inc., Buffalo, NY
Tomie Arai, New York, NY
Artist Tomie Arai created a web project and
print exhibition developed from responses to a community
survey examined
attitudes toward racial profiling. Ms. Arai worked with
students ages
10 - 21 as well as with community groups to explore
current attitudes towards race in America.
Center for
Learning at the Garden State Discovery, Cherry Hill, NJ
Queen Nur, Willingboro, NJ
Passing It On was a project designed to develop storytelling
skills with at-risk mothers. Using fun, interactive
environments in the Center for Learning at Garden State Discovery Museum
and working with award winning storyteller Queen Nur,
mothers
were encouraged to find their own storytelling voice,
sharing family and personal stories together with traditional tales.
Chester
Springs Studio, Chester Springs, PA
J. Rufus Caleb, Philadelphia, PA
Chester Springs Studio invited
playwright J. Rufus Caleb to create a literary and photographic
archive of the
memories of Coatesville's African American elders.
This project
honored the under-recognized history and presence
of African Americans
in Coatesville and evoked memories of a neighborhood
which has largely vanished. Mr. Caleb grew up in
the Coatesville
community. He collaborated on this project with
sculptor and
photographer Rachel Clark (see below).
Chester Springs
Studio, Chester Springs, PA
Rachel Clark, Philadelphia, PA
Chester Springs Studio invited photographer
and sculptor Rachel Clark to engage Coatesville's
youth in storytelling
through
photography and narrative. Young citizens created
a photography exhibition and inaugural photography
journal
to document
their daily lives and archive their voices into
the "official" history
of Coatesville, a traditionally African American
community. This project was a collaboration with
playwright Rufus J.
Caleb (see above).
Dance Institute of Washington,
Washington, DC
Dougie Styles, Philadelphia, PA
For six weeks, the Dance
Institute of Washington hosted Philadelphia-based Dougie
Styles of F.I.V.E.
Productions.
Mr. Styles presented
hip hop and tap classes, choreography, lecture
demonstrations, and production workshops for
dancers and production
apprentices in a Summer Intensive Program for
teens from low income
neighborhoods in Washington, D.C.
Ellen Powell
Tiberino Memorial Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Gail Scuderi, Mullica Hill, NJ
The community peace pole is an intergenerational
sculpture project that involved children and
elders from the
West Park Cultural and Opportunity Center
in Philadelphia, PA. Students
learned how to construct a totem decorated
with ceramic face-masks, an internationally recognized
symbol of
world peace.
Fabric Workshop, Inc., Philadelphia,
PA
J. Morgan Puett, Beach Lake, PA
Working collaboratively with artistic, academic
and industrial institutions, as well as
a group of practicing
nurses,
Pennsylvania artists Mark Dion and J. Morgan
Puett offered a compelling
look at the past and future of the nursing
uniform and its social and historical nuances.
Project
participants included
the Center for the Study of the History
of Nursing at
the University of Pennsylvania. The project
grew out of a previous
exhibit Factory Direct, in Troy, NY which
paired artists with local industries to
create work
in response to
the companies'
products.
Gloucester County Cultural and
Heritage Commission, Woodbury, NJ
Karen Stone, Philadelphia, PA
During a three month residency
at the Paulsboro Boys and Girls Club, visual artist Karen
Stone worked with
youth
at risk
to create a site-specific installation
featuring a series of totems that reflected contemporary
culture. The project,
which examined issues of personal and
cultural
identity as they relate to natural, social
and physical environments,
included participation by employees of
the Valero Energy Corporation,
Paulsboro's largest employer, and senior
citizens from the community.
Huntingdon
County Arts Council, Huntingdon, PA
Joseph Brenman, Philadelphia, PA
The project was a collaborative effort between the Huntingdon County
Arts Council and the rural Borough of Huntingdon (in its first
ever public art project) to provide for the creation of an artistic and
attractive
entrance to the Borough. Philadelphia artist Joe Brenman designed
a mosaic mural, with images based on local research and community participation.
The mural is featured on the facing on sections of curved
wall 380 feet
long that runs the length of the only entrance route into
Huntingdon Borough from the west and south, ensuring high visibility.
InterAct,
Inc., Philadelphia, PA
Tom Reing, Philadelphia, PA
Theatre playwright/director/educator
Tom Reing continued to construct the play, High Noon in Grays Ferry
- Twilight on Falls Road. The piece, begun in 2002,
is composed of interviews, monologues and improvisational
performance developed by the Irish youth of Grays Ferry,
Pennsylvania and Belfast, Northern Ireland in an effort
to compare and contrast their communities, using their
stories, and giving voice to their visions of the future.
Keystone
Blind Association, Sharon, PA
S. Passle Helminski, Erie, PA
S. Passle Helminski, a
blind artist, worked with small groups of visually impaired
students, ranging in age
from 5-19,
in creating two new works of art. The first project
featured a tactile mural utilizing a variety of mediums.
The second
project explored the effects of weather on textures.
This program was a new direction for the host organization's
Keystone Kids program, a community-based instruction
program
for visually-impaired children. The completed mural
was permanently installed in the facility's dining room,
which
also functions as a community meeting space. Keystone
Blind Association serves Mercer and Crawford counties
in northwestern
Pennsylvania and Mahoning and Trumbull counties in Ohio.
Newark
Arts Council, Newark, NJ
Caryl Ann Henry, Somerset, NJ
Passages facilitated collaboration between two
community based organizations in Newark, NJ and artist
Caryl Henry.
The lead organization was the Newark Arts Council,
which partnered with the Ironbound Community Corporation.
The
project featured community workshops producing 25
banners for public display, a large scale mural and
a web page that
describes the project.
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation,
Dt.01-1, Meadville, PA
Amara Geffen, Meadville, PA
Read Between the Signs is a 1,200 foot long by
8 foot high sculptural relief screening the Pennsylvania
Department
of Transportation's storage lot. The project, a partnership
between PennDOT employees, artist Amara Geffen and
Allegheny College students, celebrates the geography
of the French
Creek watershed and this rural Pennsylvnia community.
The primary material used is recycled road signs, inventively
transformed into decorative sculptures, combined with
landscaping
and plantings.
Perkins Center for the Arts, Moorestown,
NJ
Cesar E. Viveros Herrera, Philadelphia, PA
Perkins Center for the Arts, in partnership
with Saint Joseph's Pro-Cathedral School and Saint
Joseph's Carpenter
Society
organized a public art mural project in inner-city
Camden, NJ. Philadelphia-based artist Cesar Viveros
Herrera
devoted ten weeks to creating a large scale mural,
employing an
assistant and four youth apprentices, and engaging
a broad coalition of local community participants
in the
research,
design and execution of the final permanent work.
Perkins
Center for the Arts, Moorestown, NJ
Katherine Hackl, Lambertville, NJ
The Pocket Park Community
project was coordinated by Perkins Center for the Arts, in
partnership with
Community
Links,
a non-profit community service organization, the
Tender Care Day Center for Older Adults, and Orchard
Friends
School, an independent school for children K-8 with
language-based learning differences. Artist Katherine
Hackl worked with
residents of Moorestown, New Jersey in the design
and creation
of ceramic tile/mosaic benches and planters as a
part of a pocket park in a downtown residential neighborhood
of
Moorestown, NJ.
Reichhold Center for the Arts, St.
Thomas, VI
Anula Shetty, Philadelphia, PA
This project featured an intensive
seven-week workshop for youths ages 13 to 21. It taught
the skills necessary for
operating a digital movie camera, non-linear editing
using computers and industry standard software
programs, and
story-telling using film techniques. As a final
project, participants
produced collectively a short (10-15 min.) movie.
This was a return visit to St. Thomas by award-winning
filmmaker
Anula Shetty of Philadelphia, who was supported
in a similar program through Artists & Communities
in 2002.
Saint Benedict the Moor Neighborhood Center,
Bronx, NY
Ariane Burgess, New York, NY
The Harmony Grove Labyrinth
was designed to involve the Mott Haven community in
the South Bronx in
a collaboration to create a site-specific interactive
artwork utilizing
materials recovered from waste sites. The project
was coordinated by Friends of Brook Park, a coalition
of
residents,
parents,
business owners and community organizations. The
Labyrinth project was initiated through the United
States Forest
Service Living Memorials Project, a response to
9/11/2001. The artist
involved all ages in the community in the design
and construction of the labyrinth over a three-month
period.
Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education,
Philadelphia, PA
Knox Cummin, Philadelphia, PA
Sculptor and architect
Knox Cummin worked with elementary school students
from The Green Woods
Charter School
at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education
to create
a series of large and small-scale sculptures on
the grounds of the Center, using found and recycled
natural
materials.
The sculptures were designed by the students and
are based on the natural habitats for native species
of
plants and
animals found in the region.
Special People in
Northeast, Inc., Philadelphia, PA
Barbara Gregson, Philadelphia, PA
Special People in
Northeast, Inc. (SPIN) is a non-profit organization
which provides programs
and services
to adults with developmental disabilities and
adolescents with and
without special needs in Northeast Philadelphia.
Theatre artist Barbara Gregson worked with two
groups of SPIN's
constituents, youth and seniors respectively,
creating original theatre pieces for performance
at the conclusion
of the
residency.
The Delaware Center For Contemporary
Arts, Inc., Wilmington, DE
Jane Ingram Allen, Troy, NY
Environmental artist Jane
Ingram Allen worked with children from the Delaware
Nature Society
to create
Global Warming,
an outdoor installation consisting of a map of
the world made from handmade paper and biodegradable
items. By
selectively burning pieces of the map, the installation
demonstrated
the effects of global warming on the environment.
As the globe decayed, it was replaced by a map
of
the world
made
up of native plants, seeded under the original
work.
The Newark Museum Association, Newark, NJ
Miguel Luciano, Brooklyn, NY
The Newark Museum selected painter
and installation artist Miguel Luciano to produce a public
art project as the
culminating event in a 12-week Artists and Communities
residency. The
residency will involved a close collaboration
with La Casa de Don Pedro, New Jersey's largest
Latino-run
social
service
agency serving diverse constituents in Newark,
NJ. The project engaged many local participants
of all
ages
in creating
two "art-vending-machines" for installation
at community sites and the Museum.
The Village
of Arts and Humanities, Philadelphia, PA
Cindy A. Snodgrass, Sewickley, PA
The Village of Arts
and Humanities in Philadelphia welcomed Pittsburgh-area
artist Cindy Snodgrass
to work with
youth and adults in the community to create
a collaborative, large-scale work for display
at
the Village's summer
festival,
Kujenga
Pamoja (Swahili for Together We Build). The
theme of the 2003-2004 festival is passing -
of time, of lives, of neighborhoods. Ms. Snodgrass worked with participants
in exploring their
sense of loss and transforming it into celebratory
fiber-based and mixed media flags and banners.
University
Settlement Society of New York, New York, NY
Nai-Ni Chen, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Nai-Ni Chen engaged in a multi-faceted residency
at University Settlement's two sites as she
developed a new modern dance
work. The residency began with an intensive
retreat for the artists at the rural campus
in Beacon,
NY, followed by extended summer educational
programs for
children
aged
8-14, on-site rehearsals, and several public
performances of the work as it progressed towards
completion.
In the fall, Nai-Ni Chen conducted eight weeks
of
after-school
workshops for children at the Settlement's Lower
East Side facility in New York City. The entire
company
was in residence
at this time, rehearsing and interacting with
the young students.
Warren-Washington Association
for Mental Health, Hudson Falls, NY
Dona Ann McAdams, New York, NY
Picturing Ourselves was a photography project
of The Warren-Washington Association for Mental Health.
New York-based
photographer Dona Ann McAdams engaged with
a community of people living with mental illness, teaching
basic photography,
constructing and equipping a darkroom at for
the organization's facility, and leading the residents
in exploring their own
creative expression. She also created a personal
body of work through documentary portraiture. Ms. McAdams
has many
years experience working with similar communities,
and was featured in a previous successful project in
rural West
Virginia during MAAF's 1998 Artist as Catalyst
program.
YMCA of Paterson, Paterson, NJ
Mark Levine, Paterson, NJ
Over a period of 27 weeks, youth participants
of the Paterson, NJ, YMCA playwriting program
experienced
a wide range
of theatre practices and techniques designed
to enhance
and
improve language arts and socialization
skills, as well as establish a sense of group cohesiveness.
A
final
drama presentation, written and performed
by the young participants,
showed the values of working together to
improve
self-discipline and instill creativity. |
