Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art’s Post

We are so honored and excited to officially announce our Round 2 projects! In order of appearance: 1. Green Pastures - In cooperation with local stakeholders, preservation groups, and Douthat State Park, the project will introduce an interpretive trail and a staged reading to showcase the rich heritage and stories associated with Green Pastures. This recreational area holds significant cultural importance as a recreational haven for African Americans during an era of segregation. 2. 23/54 - In 1947, 23 Black parents and 54 children challenged racial discrimination in the court case Corbin v. County School Board of Pulaski County, Virginia. Inspired by this story, the Calfee Community and Cultural Center (CCCC) aims to research and tell the stories of brave Black parents in Southwest Virginia, their ancestors and descendants through oral history interviews, archival research, a traveling exhibit, and a community-created quilt. 3. Yesáh Community House - The Monacan Nation Cultural Foundation will be building a modern-day long house that will serve as a physical monument of the Monacan people in Virginia. It will be constructed on the Monacan pow wow grounds in Monroe, VA and will become the permanent home of this annual event. 4. Labor in Motion - The Town of Pound, VA and Appalachian Voices will be partnering in creating an amphitheater and decorative retaining wall. The amphitheater will be transformed into the town's first performance venue for town events and storytelling events chosen by town residents. (See rendering of the Community Design Assistance Center (CDAC) above. Neither rendering nor location have been finalized.) 5. Raising the Shade - More than 180,000 African American soldiers made significant contributions in the American Civil War, however, only a handful of monuments to these men exist. The Franklin County NAACP aims to share these stories and more at various community events over the next year, as well as dedicating a monument to these soldiers. To learn more about Round 1 & 2 projects, please visit moremountainstories.org Mellon Foundation Virginia Tech College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences Monument Lab #moremountainstories

New on Parlour: Why do we continue to prioritise grand bastions of public art and culture? How can we shift focus to impactful work that helps the least fortunate in our society? Patrick Kenny explores the issues around social equity and public space, questioning what we choose to value and celebrate. “In a city where the built environment serves as both a canvas for architectural expression and a reflection of societal values, it’s saddening that we continue to gleefully highlight and promote the pomp and vanity of the rich, while generally ignoring the very real plight of the poor that surrounds us... Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that we need to defund the arts to pay for the homeless, but I’m sure I’m not the only one to see a lacklustre exhibition and wonder how much anyone actually got from it. And when you consider the significant costs to build, heat, insure and secure these gallery spaces, you do start to wonder if some of this funding could be more beneficial elsewhere.” Head to the website to read the full article, which is a thought-provoking read. https://lnkd.in/gBTUH-k6 #socialequity #publicspace #emergencyhousing #priorities

Want to learn about the tools for designing + building for better #neighbourhoods? Consider taking City Program CITY104: Introduction to Neighbourhood Design with a Sat field class! #urbandesign #urbanplanning Starts Wed Apr 3 | 6pm PST| Online + F2F | https://lnkd.in/gWibzJa5

Where would you take someone on a guided tour of your neighborhood? << I LOVE this question! And am so curious to see the photographs and hear the stories in your new book Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani 💫 "In this unique book, Bendiner-Viani makes visible how seemingly unimportant places can lay the foundation for a functional interconnected society, so necessary for both public health and social justice." Functional, interconnected, healthy, just, social, fun, quirky, poignant, meaningful and no-doubt beautiful (I added a few) — Wherever you live, even if it's not your fave or even broken. It's about context, lineage and dreams too...Can't wait to chat with my neighbors, friends, and colleagues. Our homework assignment: Where would you take someone on a guided tour of your neighborhood? Tell me about your place and I'll tell you about mine. I may need a minute and a neighborhood walkabout to reconnect and get into fieldtrip guide mode...How about you? #placemaking #publicspace #spaceisnotneutral

The Transformative Power of Art in Community Building In the past week, I've witnessed two profoundly different examples of how art can impact and strengthen communities. The first occurred during our subdivision's community garage sale. As an artist, I offered to host a sidewalk chalk event, something I've done many times before in communities. Donning my alter ego, Professor Bubbles (complete with a bubble-painted lab coat), I set up along a pathway with bubble machines and boxes of chalk. Surprisingly, this event drew more adults than children. Neighbors who typically remain isolated in their homes came out, picked up chalk, and began to interact. Even a door-to-door pest control salesman joined in, spending an hour simply enjoying the camaraderie without once mentioning his services. It was a beautiful reminder of how art can break down barriers and foster connections. The second example took place in Dayton, Ohio, where I witnessed the creation of a large sidewalk mosaic memorializing a tragic mass shooting from several years ago. My friend Jes McMillan of the Mosaic Institute of Dayton shared that over the past six months, more than 5,000 community members contributed to laying out the tiles during open studio events. In recent days, dozens more have helped with completion and grouting. This project exemplifies how art can facilitate healing and unity in the wake of tragedy. The overwhelming community support and participation in creating this memorial underscore the power of public art to bring people together and provide a tangible symbol of collective resilience. From simple chalk drawings that help neighbors connect, to complex mosaics that unite thousands in a shared purpose, community art builds engagement and strengthens social bonds. It provides a platform for expression, healing, and connection that transcends words. I'm eager to hear your experiences with community art. Please share your stories in the comments or email me at timothywellsarts@gmail.com. Let's continue to explore and celebrate the transformative power of art in our communities. #CommunityArt #PublicArt #ArtHeals #CommunityBuilding #CreativeEngagement

The authors of this article hit the nail on the head: essential reading for everyone. “… Here’s an example: At a typical midsize arts institution — a place like the Toledo Museum of Art, the Oakland Museum of California or the Queens Museum, an institution at which one of us has firsthand experience — much of the energy of any director is spent cobbling together funding. Most of the annual budget comes from a combination of strapped local government agencies; private philanthropy, such as foundations, individuals and corporations; and ticket sales and other earned income sources, such as venue rentals or gala events. But there’s a large chunk of the budget — usually about 40 percent — that involves infrastructure costs like keeping the lights on and paying the staff salaries. Those are the costs that few donors are stepping up to take care of (since there’s little public prestige) and that government arts grants, because of current rules, don’t cover. Yet it’s this gap in funding, this 40 percent, that’s too often threatening small and midsize cultural institutions across the country right now. There is a better way to fund the arts in America. It requires a leap of faith and creative cultural and political organizing to achieve a change in mind-set. …”

HIGHLIGHTED GRANT OPPORTUNITY: Our Town is the National Endowment for the Arts creative placemaking grants program. Through project-based funding, the program supports activities that integrate arts, culture, and design into local efforts that strengthen communities over the long term. Our Town projects engage a wide range of local stakeholders in efforts to advance local economic, physical, and/or social outcomes in communities. Competitive projects are responsive to unique local conditions, develop meaningful and substantive engagement in communities, center equity, advance artful lives, and lay the groundwork for long-term systems change.  Projects should focus on community-identified or supported goals and may include collaborative strategies such as the following: * Planning activities such as artist/designer-facilitated community planning, cultural planning, cultural district planning, creative asset mapping, or public art planning, that incorporate artists and culture bearers as key project leads. *Design processes including design of artist spaces, design of cultural facilities, or public space design. * Supporting the creative economy through creative business development or professional artist/designer development. * Creating opportunities for community building and arts engagement through artist residencies, arts festivals, community co-creation of art, performances, and public art. These activities may honor traditions and customs shaped by the lived experiences of a community’s residents. Proposals should emphasize how these activities will advance community goals beyond the completion of the artistic product. Application Part 1 is due August 1, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. For more information visit the National Endowment for the Arts Our Town Grant Program Summary linked here: https://lnkd.in/ezcP5x3N

Water – whether too much or too little, clean or unsafe – is one of the most pressing human preoccupations. Already, 40% of the world’s population is affected by water scarcity and, with human-induced climate change, this is getting much worse. I am delighted to announce that WASHKING is honored to be one of the innovations invited to be part of this year's exhibition by the MK&G museum in Hamburg, Germany. This year's exhibition is dedicated to the topic of Water Pressure: Designing for the Future together with Jane Withers Studio, London. The exhibition, which opens at the museum from 14 March – 13 October 2024, looks at the water crisis from a global perspective, displaying ideas and proposals that illuminate the potential for shaping a radically different future. In case you are around Hamburg, we kindly invite you to our exhibition area to learn more about life-saving and life-improving innovations on display. Find the location here: https://lnkd.in/eJdev5SR Credit: Exhibition view "Water Pressure: Designing for the Future”, MK&G, photo: Henning Rogge. Richard Yeboah Lindelani Xaba Eric Gbenatey Nartey Devika Gulati David Driscoll Bita Diomande Eveline Maertens Toilet Board Coalition SEED: Promoting entrepreneurship for sustainable development Impacc MovingWorlds #waterfutureinnovations #mkghamburg #mkgwater #waterpressure #waterisahumanright