 | These projects establish community as the artist. Environments, supplies and a little guidance are provided for the public to contribute their creativity and collaborate on overall expressions. Check back here as we continue to spread out and evolve these projects. |
project 25 ::
Collective Thrills
After the return of Mecca's annual performance of Thriller, an after-party was had at 3rd Street Stuff for all the ghouls that didn't want to just disappear into the night. There, citizensCREATE! had a community painting session ready for those possessed to express. The result, an exorcism of our collective thrills and fears. It was quite the fright show!
~ INTERACT ~
Thank You Volunteers :: Britt and Patrick
project 24 ::
AmeriCorps Puzzle
The AmeriCorps Launch is held each fall to introduce a new class of members embarking on a year of service to the commonwealth. The launch celebration is designed to motivate citizens and members alike to make the most of volunteer opportunities.
In addition to the training sessions and induction ceremony, AmeriCorps members took part in a collaborative art project hosted by citizensCREATE!. This enabled them to artistically express their inspirations on giant jigsaw puzzle pieces that when put together formed the AmeriCorps logo.
~ INTERACT ~
project 23 ::
Art in the Park
One hot August evening, citizensCREATE! descended upon Applebee's Park, home of the Lexington Legend's Baseball Team. Combining a "chalk the walk" baseball-themed art project with a display of some three-dimensional pieces from the cC! Collection, Art in the Park broke new ground for citizensCREATE! The challenge was to evoke creativity and provoke artistic appreciation in a venue more known for traditional, All-American baseball. Though the heat of the day bogged down energy levels, a handful of attendees still contributed their artistic chalk-skills, giving the thousand-plus spectators something visual to view on their way in and out. While Art in the Park evoked limited participation, it is very important for cC! to continue to push the envelope and tread new (and sometimes unfamiliar) ground in our mission to provide opportunities for creativity to ALL citizens, wherever they may be.
~ INTERACT ~
Thank You Volunteers :: Britt, Jarah, and Patrick
project 22 ::
Ready, Set, Study
In partnership with the Carnegie Center, citizensCREATE! participated in this unique program to encourage learning throughout the summer. Booker T. Washington students who receive free and/or reduced lunch and who report they did not have a dedicated space to study were supplied with an unpainted full size desk and chair. On the day of the project they worked with citizensCREATE! and Carnegie Center volunteers to paint their desks and chairs to their liking. The desks and chairs were delivered to the students’ homes the next day by volunteers. The goal of this project was to provide the students with a dedicated space at home to study and do homework and to let them express their creativity through that foundation.
~ INTERACT ~
Thank You Volunteers :: Britt and Carnegie Center Volunteers
Special Thanks to Paul Koontz at Earth Wood Furniture for the great deal on the desks and chairs.
project 21 ::
A Brush with Art
For the 2007 Francisco's Farm Arts Festival in Midway, citizensCREATE! saw a potential to "frame" things in ways that help expand the awareness Art. To accomplish this, we integrated a scholarship component, thanks to sponsor National City, in which local college students were to research and present values of art through the lens of their respective fields of study. As a prelude to our typical onsite community painting project, attendees were guided through two interactive presentations given by the student finalists on an Anthropological and Psychological view of art. We feel confident that this approach encouraged a richer, more connected perspective and helped participants truly experience A Brush with Art.
~ INTERACT ~
:: Kristin Kant - Research Paper
:: Ande Seybert - Research Paper
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slides
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comment
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Thank You Volunteers :: Sarah and Rebecca
Thank You Supporters ::
Marcie Christensen and National City
project 20 ::
Peace Wheel
For the Peace and Global Citizenship Fair, citizensCREATE! provided an interactive wheel for the public to artistically explore the many facets that constitute Peace. As an upright disc system, the wheel was slowly spun allowing for a continuous circular application, creating a complete loop or spiral. Citizens chose to write meaningful words/phrases, sign their name, or just draw expressive lines in an array of colors.
~ INTERACT ~
Thank You :: Rebecca Glasscock and BCTCS
project 19 ::
Bouquet Mosaic
Attendees to 2007 Mayfest at Gratz Park were encouraged to create and collaborate on Mother's Day weekend. Using paper "tiles" and pastels, festival-goers fashioned spring flowers and composited them together on an image of a vase. One was created each day, making a very attractive pair of flower bouquets in a display of artistic gratitude!
~ INTERACT ~
Thank You Volunteers :: Jennifer
project 18 ::
Creation Kite
Inspired by the rich multi-cultural heritage of creation myths/beliefs that people all over the world have used to communicate about the beginnings of the existence, citizensCREATE! decided to craft a project for its expression.
The “Beginnings Kite” is illustrated with the image of the turtle, a recurring character that carries the weight of the world in many traditions. The sections of its shell provided many connected frames for attendees of the 2007 Georgetown International Kite and Cultural Festival to express their stories in words or images using resist and dyes.
The diverse imagery within these stories appear to share archetypal characters and common themes such as survival, revealing fascinating similarities across cultures and time.
~ INTERACT ~
Thank You Volunteers :: Patrick and Goldy
project 17 ::
A Vision of Mind and Body
Using Leonardo Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man as a backdrop, members
of Lexington's Chronic
Pain Support Group expressed their visions of balancing the
Mind and Body. Life with chronic pain presents unique
challenges. CPSG offers those who cope with pain, as well as their
families, a forum and resource for living with pain. This
mixed-media project intended to capture the delicate act of preserving
vibrancy in life while managing the ache, stress, and stigma attached
to chronic pain.
~ INTERACT ~
Thank You :: Elsea Speed
project 16 ::
Join Hands
On January 15, 2007, citizensCREATE! joined the Carnegie Center in celebrating the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King by setting up a “Join Hands” community art project. We asked attendees to think about colors, patterns and images that represented themselves, their families or their neighborhood as they decorated paper cut-outs of hands, feet, and faces. To finish the piece, we linked all the creations together, representing a strong and united community.
~ INTERACT ~
Thank You :: Carnegie Volunteers
show 02 ::
Reclaiming Creativity
As part of our mission to provide display for publicly created art, we arranged and curated the 2nd Annual citizensCREATE! gallery showing at the Kentucky Theater, during the month of November. The showing simultaneously represented expressions of nearly a thousand individuals in the region as well as their ability to create together.
~ INTERACT ~
::
postcard ::
show statement
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:: slides
:: comment
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Thank You Caterer :: Heather Musinski
project 15 ::
Lexington, Green Lexington
With support from a local arts grant, our return to the Bluegrass Energy & Green Living Expo gave us the opportunity to engage the attendees in a multi-faceted way. In one area, we setup a showing of enviro themed art, submitted by the public, which was accompanied by a roster of musicians/poets. In the children's area, we facilitated a jumbo felt board for the younger greenies. In a 3rd area, we provided a large painting surface for all to collaborate on an overall expression of a better future Lexington.
~ INTERACT ~
Thank You Project Supporter :: LexArts
project 14 ::
Transforming the Divide
Guests at our first fundraiser were encouraged to paint on a room divider which symbolized what seperates us from art. What resulted was a transformation of the divider into portals of creativity and communication, which helped demonstrate our approach to fulfilling the mission of citizensCREATE!.
~ INTERACT ~
Thank You Organizers :: Cindy Isenhour
& Perry Papka
Thank You Hosts :: Jan and Larry Isenhour
project 13 ::
collective paint
Our 3rd annual project for the Terrapin Hill Festival reflected an another aspect of community altogether. Like many Kentuckians that endured hard rains overnight, we all found ourselves nearly becoming refugees as the grounds and exits became flooded. Pulling together, everyone managed to make it out ok as did our painting project!
~ INTERACT ~
Thank You Rescuers :: Kim Nicholson & Central Ky Red Cross
project 12 ::
Producing Healthy Youth
Here we assembled a folding painting structure (with spinning discs) for the public to illustrate the connection between healthy produce and youth prosperity. It was setup for the duration of Farmer's Market on Vine and then moved over to the Spotlight on Youth Celebration at the Courthouse for the rest of the day. By nightfall, over 70 people had connected the two events through a unique multi-dimensional artwork.
~ INTERACT ~
Thank You Supporter :: Partners For Youth
project 11 ::
Animal Recreation
The purpose of this project was to help attendees of the 1st Annual Animal Jam recreate themselves as animals with ears, tails and collaborative face painting. Animal Jam is a fun, festive, musical jamboree (with hands-on activities for kids, raffles, silent auctions, and more) designed to bring friends & family together to celebrate compassion, promote kindness to animals, & support the programs of Home at Last.
~ INTERACT ~
project 10 ::
United as One
United as One was the theme for the 2006 Juneteenth Festival held outside the Versailles Courthouse. For those not familiar, it is the oldest celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Along with many other groups providing activities (gospel, pageant, play, vendors, farmer's market, face painting) citizensCREATE! encouraged attendees to express through art what this means to them today.
~ INTERACT ~
Thank You Volunteers :: Wolf & Kosmo
project 09 ::
Hope Kite
For this project a large custom silk kite was made for the 2006 Georgetown International Kite Festival. For the first day of the event, attendees used resist to draw symbols of hope as well as write similar meanings in any language. During the second day, attendees were able to paint dyes onto the kite creating a vertical panorama of universal hopes. The kite was then laid to dry and flown later that day.
~ INTERACT ~
:: slides :: video :: comment ::
Thank You Volunteer :: Jennifer
project 08 ::
kidsmART benefit
To prepare for the 3rd Annual Lexington Mardi Gras Parade, citizensCREATE! facilitated decorating parties at Firebird Studios and Mecca Gallery. The activities were making personal masks (balloons and Papier Mache) and one large mask (wireframe) which were used by many people during the parade. For the after-party at ArtsPlace, citizensCREATE! had an activity set-up to benefit a New-Orleans community arts organization kidsmART. Their logo was printed out onto envelopes which were then personalized by attendees with their donations inside.
~ INTERACT ~
Thank You Volunteer :: Heather
show 01 ::
Public Expressions
As part of our mission to provide display for publicly created art, we arranged and curated the 1st Annual citizensCREATE! gallery showing at the Kentucky Theater, during the month of October. The showing simultaneously represented expressions of nearly a thousand individuals in the region as well as their ability to create together.
~ INTERACT ~
::
postcard ::
show statement
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:: slides
:: comment
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Thank You Volunteers :: Katie, Sarah, & Jennifer
project 07 ::
Collective Paint
Our follow up to the Terrapin Hill Festival in 2005 was met with much public anticipation. 4 pre-themed canvases were again set-up and ready for a good-size turnout. The resulting works were no less amazing than the original event one year prior.
~ INTERACT ~
Thank You Volunteers :: Morgan, Thomas, & Jennifer
project 06 ::
"Set the Stage, Make a Scene"
At the 2nd installment of the 2005 Downtown Shakedown, held at the Kentucky Theater, citizensCREATE! custom made a giant felt board for community participation. In addition to placing and arranging pre-fashioned felt pieces, passers-bye were encouraged to resource our felt remnants and magazines to create elements to their liking. The framing of "Set the Stage, Make a Scene" was to provoke the public's relation to national iconography and entertainment. In addition to a final view of the piece, several detail shots of the board in progression are in the photoshow.
~ INTERACT ~
Thank You Volunteers :: Nan, Sarah, & Katie
project 05 ::
LibertyMosaic
Starting with a 35x70 inch canvas image of the Statue of Liberty, citizensCREATE! planned a public art project for Independence Day. The large image was cut along a grid, creating 50 tiles, symbolic of our United States. The tiles were then setup for the public to express their independence with markers and crayons all day during Lexington's 2005 July 4th Celebration. The finished tiles were then recompiled, creating a beautifully interdependent mosaic of Liberty.
~ INTERACT ~
Thank You Volunteer :: Sky
project 04 ::
Voodoo Doll
To participate in Lexington's 2nd Annual Mardi Gras, citizensCREATE! built an eight-foot tall voodoo doll, primed and ready for paint. After parading the doll through downtown Lexington, it was erected at the after-party in Victorian Square, where dozens of participants helped paint it. This resulted in a vibrant, collectively created piece of three dimensional art. Many different personalities and talents came together to create the final product. Later in February, the voodoo doll was displayed at Mecca Gallery during the Gallery Hop.
~ INTERACT ~
Thank You :: Teresa Tomb (Mecca) & the Sweeneys
project 03 ::
All Hallow's Eve
On All Hallows Eve, a single mural was set up at the corner of 3rd and Limestone in downtown Lexington. It was part of the Post-Party for Mecca's annual performance of Thriller. The session produced a cohesively spooky painting that was then hung at 3rd Street Stuff during 2005.
~ INTERACT ~
Thank You Host :: Pat Gerhard & 3rd Street Stuff
project 02 ::
A Sustainable Lexington
At the first annual Bluegrass Energy Expo in Lexington, KY citizensCREATE! co-hosted a mural project with A-SPI. Attendees of this event were invited to help several artists envision the theme "A Sustainable Lexington" on horizontal doors. By weekend's end, the works emerged as inspired visions of a future Bluegrass!
~ INTERACT ~
Thank You Artists :: Vicki Lemaster, Christine Kuhn, Thomas Kirkland, & Stephen Casals
project 01 ::
Collective Paint
At this event, 4 themed canvases were setup at the 2004 Terrapin Hill Festival in Harrodsburg, KY on which attendees were invited to paint their interpretations. Each of the resulting canvases were the collaborative products of hundreds of citizens. These publicly created pieces will be exhibited at a later date and potentially auctioned. In the event of auction, any proceeds will benefit Minds Wide Open, a division of ARC of the Bluegrass.
~ INTERACT ~
::
participant log
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Advocate
Messenger
article ::
:: slides ::
comment
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Thank You Volunteers :: Morgan, Thomas, & Stephen
