Benefits of a Community-Based Exhibition Project

Antonio Castillo, Carlyn Barrus, Melissa Hempel, Sheryl Gillilan,Rebekah Monahan (moderator)

IntroductionsSheryl Gillilan

Melissa Hempel

Antonio Castillo

Carlyn Barrus

Director/Curator, Woodbury Art Museum

Gang Prevention Specialist, Provo School District

Community Artist

Executive Director, Art Access

ART ACCESS

Since 1984Our mission is to provide equal

opportunities to inclusive arts programming to Utahns with disabilities and underserved communities with limited access to the arts.

Our vision is to demonstrate that the arts are a universal vehicle to draw out similarities, celebrate our differences, and ultimately connect us to each other.

Art is one of the oldest forms of storytelling.

Lions from the Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave - approximately 30,000 years old.

Art appears in every culture on Earth.

Prehistoric images from the walls of the Magura Cave in north-western Bulgaria. Dates to 8,000 BC.

Art is the only language that every person in the world can understand.

Battle scene, Assyrian, about 728 BC.

Art helps us to understand how others see the world; clarify how we see the world; share our experiences;

and connect to one another.

Fresco from the Villa of the Mysteries.Pompeii, 80 BC.

Stories connect us because they allow us to break down the walls between

“Them” and “Us”

Atem, oil on canvas, Eric Empey

Who I Am, mixed media, Sherrie Hawker

ART ACCESS Core Philosophy

We believe in the power of art to connect people and to build

a stronger, more inclusive community.

We offer 12 mission-driven programs - focusing largely on the Wasatch

Front.

Sharing stories through art is so important that ART ACCESS believes everyone should have access to arts opportunities.

ART ACCESS Programs & Services

Visit us at ART ACCESS

We’re looking forward to hearing your story, because. . .

we believe thatART IS FOR everyone!

www.accessart.org

Benefits for a Small Museum

Climate AUTONOMY●Somewhat unincorporated department within the school●Separate mission statement

TIMING●Building a regular exhibition schedule●Community partners and representatives from the school

Project Scope Working with underrepresented populations, the Hidden Voices Program offers a safe outlet for expression through art projects, developing skills and building community in Utah County.

2011 Hidden Voices: Graffiti Provo School District Gang Prevention

2012 Hidden Voices: Women in Printmaking Utah County Center for Women and Children in Crisis

2014 Hidden Voices: Fiber Arts “Not Bound by Tradition” community group

Awareness & Stakeholders

PARTICIPANTS●Reclaiming space and attention●Learning art skills

MUSEUM●More community “buy-in”●Reputation●Increased attendance and recognition

Content & DisplayPARTICIPANTS●A chance to tell their stories●An opportunity to teach others

MUSEUM●Ability to expand beyond the artist statement●Content from the project: process and backgrounds

Expanding our Definition of Contemporary Visual Art

Can You Read Graffiti?

Set out to tell the whole story as the final product for display:

● Showing the Process

● Representing Participants

“Final Product”

● Completed artworks became secondary

● Contemporary Art = art being created right now, on-site

A small museum doesn’t have much time to complete evaluations, here the audience helps you.

Evaluation

Never have I had more comments than...

Challenges● If no strong community

partner, the concept suffers

● If no continued support, participants lose connection with museum

● Long-term project completed over 6 months or more

● Keeping new visitors as regular visitors

Provo School District Gang Prevention

Recruit Juvenile Artists ● Convince artist to participate in

Hidden Voices Program● Commit artist for HV project ● Obtain parent permission

● Assist artist with obtaining a high school diploma or equivalent

● Set short and long term goals● View urban art in a more positive

way

Mentor Artist

● Provide a space where artists could express themselves

● A space to display their art ● Building bridges with the Provo and

Orem communities

Collaborate with Museum

Albert Anzar ● 1st artist recruited ● Slate Canyon Youth Detention Center ● Facing 30 counts of vandalism● Dropped out of school prior to his arrest

A Second Chance: Albert ●Assisted with recruiting artists ●Excelled as a leader among the

group●Stopped tagging illegally●Received commissions to paint

Self Portrait Albert Anzar

The Two Sides of Graffiti: Nick Solis

Family Involvement

The Artists

Scholarship & Award Recipients

Community Art

“...basically involves artists and their fellow citizens coming together to make art that in some way reflects

their common concerns.”

William Cleveland

Community Art

encourages Participation - blurs line between artist and participant

values Process over the final product or object

element of Activismaddresses needs/concerns of communityworks to bring about change or action

Relational Aesthetics:

Nicolas Bourriaud, 1998“A set of artistic practices which take as their theoretical and practical point of departure the whole of

human relations and their social context, rather than an independent and private space.”

Final Questions?