World Community Arts Day 2009

February 15, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Celebrated on February 17, the third annual World Community Arts Day is a festival of art and activism. This year’s celebration will be the largest so far. All event organizers ask is that you create an artwork, any media is fine, that highlights how the arts promote caring and sharing.

Last year, I contributed by creating a green collaged circle, the symbol that represents the day and submitting it to the festival’s green circle flickr page. This year, I’ve joined their facebook group.

Filed Under: Creativity, Imagination, Public Art

Graffiti Knitting

January 24, 2008 by Leave a Comment

I love the creative spirit of Houston based Knitta. Inspired by graffiti art, Knitta was formed in 2005 when a group of knitters were looking for other uses for their unfinished projects and unused balls of yarn.

They came up with the idea to take their knitting to the public sphere, wrapping everything from light posts to fire hydrants.

Unlike graffiti art, Knitta’s work is made from colorful yarn that does not damage property and is not permanent.

 

 

  • How can you transform something by changing its context?

Image Knitta

Filed Under: Fashion, Imagination, Public Art

Guerilla Art Kit

August 23, 2007 by 3 Comments

After promoting Keri Smith’s guerilla art techniques, I discovered that she now has a full length book on the topic. Hurrah!

It covers everything from what is guerilla art to what to be aware of when creating art in public spaces and exercises and templates to fuel your creativity. I love how she describes that you don’t have to be able to draw or paint to be a guerilla artist; you just need to care about something and want to express yourself.

She describes 3 ways to approach guerilla art:

 

  1. beautifying – altering your surroundings
  2. questioning – using your voice, challenging the status quo
  3. interacting – with the environment or people

As a public art enthusiast, I appreciate that the exercises are easy to follow and most importantly create a community connection. From guerilla gardening (she shows you how to make a seed bomb to throw in vacant lots) to chalk quotes and book leave-behinds, Smith will get you thinking about your own environment and questioning how you can change it for the better. There’s even a list for you to find solutions and create your own guerrilla art projects.

Filed Under: Books, Imagination, Public Art