community art – Page 3

June 2, 2023June 14, 2023, by Art Spiel

Bay Ridge Through an Ecological Lens: Jennifer McGregor

HOT AIR

A group of people looking up at the camera

Description automatically generated with medium confidence — Kate Dodd, E. J. McAdams & Jennifer McGregor enjoy haiku installed in the ceiling lamps by E.J. and Jimbo Blachly as part of Kate’s *Bay Ridge Tree Collection* at the Bay Ridge Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. Photo courtesy of E. J. McAdams.

Bay Ridge through an Ecological Lens is a multi-faceted public art exhibition hosted by Stand4 Gallery and presented in collaboration with ecoartspace

This interactive, public, community arts exhibition is curated by Jennifer McGregor, featuring artists Rebecca Allan, Aaron Asis, Chris Costan, Kate Dodd, Peter Edlund, Kristin Reiber-Harris, Ellen Coleman-Izzo, Sergey Jivetin, Nathan Kensinger, Rita Leduc, Christopher Lin, Nikki Lindt, E.J. McAdams/ Jimbo Blachly, Nancy Nowacek in collaboration with Carla Kihlstedt and Carlos Alomar, Benjamin Swett and filmmakers: Aaron Assis, Nate Dorr, Sean Hanley, Nathan Kensinger, Nikki Lindt, Emily Packer and Lesley Steele, and Kristin Reiber-Harris

It consists of nature walks and community interventions in the gallery and various locations throughout the Bay Ridge community from April 15 through June 17, 2023. Art Spiel will feature a series of interviews related to this project throughout its duration, here with curator Jennifer McGregor.

May 19, 2023May 19, 2023, by Art Spiel

Bay Ridge Through an Ecological Lens: Christopher Lin

HOT AIR

Bay Ridge through an Ecological Lens is a multi-faceted public art exhibition hosted by Stand4 Gallery and presented in collaboration with ecoartspace

May 12, 2023May 3, 2023, by Art Spiel

Bay Ridge Through an Ecological Lens: Rita Leduc

HOT AIR

A picture containing person, outdoor, ground, blue

Description automatically generated — Leduc installing *Field Mark (Narrows Botanical Garden).* Photo courtesy of the artist.

Bay Ridge through an Ecological Lens is a multi-faceted public art exhibition hosted by Stand4 Gallery and presented in collaboration with ecoartspace.

January 23, 2023December 30, 2022, by Susan Hoffman Fishman

Keeper of the Waters

A city next to a body of water

Description automatically generated with low confidence — *A Living Water Garden*, Chengdu, China

For the last 50+ years, eco-artist and environmental activist Betsy Damon has devoted herself to community building – the coming together of individuals to achieve a common purpose. Since the 1980s, after a decade of engaging the public through public performances in New York City, she has worked at the intersection of art and science, focusing on the topic of water and on creating models for communities in the United States and China to know and become stewards of their own water sources. The brief descriptions below, highlighting four of Damon’s many exhibitions, ecological and sustainable design projects, publications, and organizations are only a brief glimpse into her prolific and important body of work.

November 21, 2022November 2, 2022, by Art Spiel

Woolpunk®: Sunflowers & Graffiti’d Sky in the Garden State at Montclair Art Museum

Photo Story

Background pattern

Description automatically generated — Detail, Sunflowers & Graffitit’d Sky in the Garden State, 2022, 24 x 36. Digital Image with embroidery and textiles. Photo Credit: Megan Maloy

Sunflowers & Grafitti’d Sky in the Garden State is a large-scale wall-based work by artist Woolpunk® in the Laurie Stairwell exhibition space at the Montclair Art Museum. It consists of a photo highlighting inspirational communal land use and dietary wellness, juxtaposed by a spray-painted sky-blue mural that is visible from behind the sunflowers. The use of the graffitied wall in the photo reminds us of the air-polluted sunsets, which are so beautiful that they make us almost forget what causes them. “The sunflowers are treated as mutating militants filled with patterns and iconic images multiplying throughout the community garden,” the artist says.

October 24, 2022November 2, 2022, by Art Spiel

Five Points – Judith McElhone: Baby steps quickly

Featured Project

Judith McElhone, Founder – Executive Director Five Points Arts

In 2012, Five Points Gallery, a small 744 square foot contemporary art 501c3 non-profit exhibition space, opened in the heart of historic downtown Torrington. Against all odds, Five Points Gallery, has become Five Points Arts, one of Connecticut’s outstanding visual arts organizations and a cornerstone of Torrington’s transition from an old industrial town into a major arts destination. Judith McElhone, the executive director of Five Points Arts, sheds some light on the vision behind her organization.

August 12, 2022November 2, 2022, by Art Spiel

Elizabeth Meggs: Found & Lost at Sweet Lorraine Gallery

Featured Artist

Installation view, photo courtesy of Lucas Zhao

Elizabeth Meggs’ work in Found & Lost includes prints, posters, fabric design, and clocks. The exhibit explores the discoveries and losses many have experienced in the world in recent years, from profound themes such as hope, time, or love, to mundane items such as umbrellas. Through this exhibition and opening event Elizabeth Meggs expresses a gratitude for life, and a catalyst for connecting with friends and building community through August, after recovering from being hit by a car and sustaining a head injury in late April of 2022.

June 7, 2022November 2, 2022, by Alexandra Israel

Artist Kristina Libby and the Village Alliance Welcome New Animal Inspired Public Art Exhibition – In Plain Sight

Macintosh HD:Users:alexandraisrael88:Downloads:Kristina Libby (artist) - Grimo - Adam Reich (photographer).jpeg.jpg

Grimo, courtesy of the artist and photographer Adam Reich.

Artist Kristina Libby is no stranger to the power of public art: during the onset of COVID, Libby founded the Floral Heart Project. In collaboration with 1-800-Flowers, The Floral Heart Project created and distributed floral heart wreaths as a tribute to those who lost their lives to COVID-19. Moved by community response to the Floral Heart Project, Libby has created a series of large sculptures of apex animals known as the Chunkos. Greenwich Village, a hot-spot for both art and architecture, will play host to the Chunkos in an immersive exhibition titled In Plain Sight (on view from June 10-12). The exhibit is inspired by the unique history of animals in art and architecture in the neighborhood and is a celebration of the resilience, courage and creativity of New Yorkers from all walks of life. On Friday, June 10^th, there will be an interactive public art painting exercise with Libby and the Village Alliance Business Improvement District from 5-7pm. She hopes that the installation of the Chunkos in Astor place will spark new conversations and evoke curiosity from passerbys. Curious artists of all ages are welcome to join as she paints in real time with the help of the community the inaugural animals in her Chunkos series.

June 6, 2022December 30, 2022, by Art Spiel

ELM Foundation: Art and Healing

In conversation with founder Melinda Riddle McCoy

A person sitting in a chair

Description automatically generated — Melinda Riddle McCoy, inside Tomas Vu’s spherochromatic dome. Photo by Nathan West @nathanwestphoto

The mission of ELM Foundation is to promote the healing power of the arts. Our methods include advocating the benefits of arts therapy, providing multidisciplinary arts education, and building sustaining mentorships—all working together to cultivate a lifelong love of self-expression and awareness through a creative process. ELM Foundation was launched on February 20^th, 2019 in honor of Emma Lauren McCoy whose intense childhood experience inspired the creation of this nonprofit organization which offers children who have experienced parental loss or family structure adjustments, paths for healing through art and art therapy. In addition to its multidisciplinary art education and therapy, ELM hosts at the adjacent boiler space exhibitions, currently featuring Tomas Vu’s solo project, The Man Who Fell to Earth 76/22. Melinda McCoy, the founder of ELM sheds some light on the foundation and how art plays a pivotal role in it.

March 7, 2022November 2, 2022, by Art Spiel

Terrarium at Ice Cream Social

Featured Project with Curator and artist Jenn Cacciola, and Artist/Owner of Ice Cream Social Matthew Shively

Installation view, photo courtesy of Ice Cream Social.

The inaugural group exhibition, Terrarium, at Ice Cream Social features painting, photography, sculpture, fiber and site-specific installations by 26 artists. Terrarium examines growth of different forms, inside and outside of containment, managed and wild, protected and exposed, as well as growth that sometimes requires destruction or thorny discoveries. The show runs from March 5th through May 6th, 2022.