A recent article in Next City discusses how residents of Grand Marais, Minnesota “faced the loss of their only major highway due to necessary but disruptive construction” and how “seeking ways to support the residents during this disruptive process, the local government brought in artist Amanda Lovelee to turn the project into something productive for the community.
U.S. National Deadline: September 30, 2021 – This National WCA 50th Anniversary exhibition is seeking artistic works that address this moment of 2022. Artists are encouraged to interpret the theme broadly…
International Deadline: Ongoing – Art in Embassies has played a leading role in U.S. public diplomacy through a focused mission of vital cross-cultural dialogue and understanding. We are always looking for new artists…
International Deadline: October 29, 2021 – Several Artist Residencies adjacent to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park on the big island of Hawai’i. July and August 2022 are currently open for application. Housing, stipends…
In a recent piece published by The Women’s Foundation California, Meredith Youngblood has a conversation with two members of the Ruth McGuire Legacy Circle on how they “practically and emotionally invested in a feminist future” and why they chose to write Women’s Foundation California into their wills.
As Next City writes, “while the idea of scientists collaborating with musicians to create climate science-inspired music may initially sound surprising, it’s actually a very logical approach to solving a pernicious problem. If science doesn’t move people to action, maybe music will.”
Don’t miss this recent article that brings the story of ClimateMusic, a San Francisco-based organization founded by artist, musician, and former public servant Stephen Crawford.
A common thread throughout the majority of public art is positivity. Whether this is through the form of performance, statue, or mural, a strong desire woven into many pieces meant for pedestrian consumption is that they strike a bright chord. While there are certainly those of empowering or socio-politically critical bends, there is certainly a lean towards hopeful beacons of expression sewn throughout cities, and so it comes as no surprise how resonant the Big Love Balls of Vancouver, British Colombia were when a new pop-up appeared across the Canadian city this past week.
Courtesy of North Shore News.
Without much explanation, one can likely conjure the image of the Big Love Balls—in an entirely safe-for-work connotation. Large (person-height), plastic, glossy neon pink spheres, all huddled into a pile and each emblazoned with the word “LOVE”. These pearly pyramids of pink sprouted up across shipyards and other sections of Northern Vancouver as a pop-up, to the seeming delight of passersby.
The Big Love Balls are a piece of the larger project Big Love Ball by B.C. artist Wendy Williams Watt. And the reason the interior designer/art director began this venture six years ago is understandable enough. “I created Big Love Ball for countless reasons,” Watt states on her website. “But simply put, it’s what I feel inside. It is a physical expression of a feeling I have when I interact with people who are genuinely opening their hearts.” And in so many ways, pop-up public works like these are the best way to manifest those feelings of interaction with the broadest of audiences.
By no means a new sight for the citizens of Vancouver, all things Big Love Ball seem to still draw admiration from the city. “I want people in our community to know they are loved, and they are a valued part of our community,” Mayor Linda Buchanan stated. Watt’s balls of love have taken all sorts of forms and held all sorts of homes—pins, stickers, and hot air balloons; shop windows, streets, and city hall.
A very obvious comparison can be drawn from Watt’s works to the most iconic and replicated public artworks, Love by Robert Indiana. The simplistic piece of pop-art history, based on Indiana’s design which originally appeared as the New York MoMA’s 1965 Christmas card cover, can be seen across the globe in countless languages and alphabets. But the striking red letters, the signature titling O, and the magnetic draw these sculptures all hold for passersby are universal to each rendition of the piece.
Both Love and Big Love Balls hold the purest message of all, a simple expression of love, and so it is little surprise why these works are so beloved. Wendy Williams Watt taps into the same bare essence as Robert Indiana, one that almost anyone can find themselves in agreement to. There are few things nobler than the desire to flourish love in the hearts of strangers, and it is highly likely this isn’t the last time we’ll see a beaming beacon of “LOVE” bouncing by.
International Deadline: October 18, 2021 – Manifest Gallery invites artists to submit entries for the ‘Manifest Prize’. One work will be selected for the award, featured in the gallery, and published. Ten semi-finalist works…
For the month of September, GIA’s photo banner features work supported by the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation (UMEZ).
This is the text UMEZ submitted for this Spotlight:
Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation’s footprint may be small, covering only the communities of Central, West and East Harlem and Washington Heights/Inwood, but its list of grantees is a Who’s Who of cultural diversity, including the Apollo Theater, Dance Theatre of Harlem, The Studio Museum in Harlem, El Museo del Barrio, and Harlem Stage. Started in 1996 with $249 million in government funding as a ten-year vehicle to spur economic development in a high poverty area, UMEZ, now 25 years strong and a U.S. Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institution, provides loan capital to transformative commercial real estate projects and small businesses; grants for workforce programs aligned with employment opportunities; and multiple grant programs to a flourishing cultural community.
UMEZ has invested over $50 million through its Cultural Investments Fund (CIF), which has focused on building capacity by supporting new administrative personnel, technology improvements, strategic planning efforts, and facility upgrades. Four years ago, UMEZ expanded its outreach, creating an Arts Engagement program to provide programming grants of up to $10,000 for individuals, collectives, and smaller-sized organizations. Administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), this program has awarded $1.4 million to 107 recipients to date.
UMEZ responded decisively to the pandemic with $1.15 million in a two-part Cultural Aid Fund awarded to 24 organizations to support their self-identified priority operating needs.
Looking forward, UMEZ recently began managing its own regrant program with funding from the Mertz Gilmore Foundation and promotional partnerships with Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, Dance/NYC, and LMCC. The UMEZ Mertz Gilmore Seed Fund for Dance will provide new opportunities for Upper Manhattan artists and open new possibilities for UMEZ itself.
UMEZ joined Grantmakers in the Arts in 2012.
You can also visit UMEZ’s photo gallery on GIA’s Photo Credits page.
Image: Steven Pisano
EMERGE125 performs Tilted Arc, choreographed by Artistic Director Tiffany Rea-Fisher for their 2019 New York Season.
