Today, my new project, "Working Art" was launched at theOak Park Police Station . I wanted to test my passionate opinion that art really is for more than those of us with arts training.
My thinking was to use the Waterways Project as an experiment to bring art to a busy stressful work environment. I wondered if art would be a welcome antidote to work place stress and spark discussions about the value of art. I wanted to work with a community whose members might be too busy to attend art events and wanted to bring art to their work place. I wondered if people in such an environment would welcome a creative , personal art experience that differed from the highly processed commercial art of advertising.
One of the most stressful work environments I could think of was a police department. Many of you may be thinking that this is an unusual venue for a show but the purpose of this project was not to sell art but to use art to enrich workers lives. I met with our Chief of Police, Chief Tanksley and laid out my proposal for an art space in the station. He not only loved the idea, but he himself has been working on enhancing the visual environment of the station already.
This morning, Craig and my friend Maria and I arrived and met with Fred from maintenance to hang the show. No artist could ask for a better crew! Fred in particular, with his experience hanging shows in the Village Hall, organized the actual hanging with professional dispatch. The four of us had the show up in an hour.
I've made a one year commitment to place shows by various artist's in this space. I have big dreams for the success of this project but my first issue is to gauge the interest of the staff members themselves. Will this particular law enforcement community welcome art in the station? The Chief has suggested I hand out a survey in a week or so and I'll be getting feed back soon. I'm so excited to have my beloved Waterways Project seen by this community of hard working public servants.
All day long, I've been grinning like a fool. This is way more fun than organizing an marketing pitch to art galleries. If this works out the way I hope, the project will be as fun for the officers as it is for me.
Many thanks to my husband Craig for designing the survey (much harder than you'd imagine!!) and for his support.
Maria, thanks for your excellent hanging advice and proof reading my show text. I can't figure out what is worse, my spelling or my typos. You make me look good.
My famous friend Kelly, impassioned union activist recommended a great question for the survey.
In a future post I'll share my thoughts and experiences about volunteer work and what issues I thought about in constructing the "Working Art Project".
14 comments:
Congratulations Lindsay, it looks fantastic! It may be unusual but it's a brilliant idea. It's thinking outside the box and it will probably reach more people than traditional art galleries do. I will you every success!
Thanks for your support Felicity. My next project is to learn how to write a grant and get a professional gallery lighting system! This is already more fun that I could have imagined.
Lindsay this sounds marvelous! And the art work hanging all perfectly lined up looks awesome. The idea of going in with the objective to simple show and share rather than with the purpose of selling is a sure bet for success. Kudos to you.
This is a fabulous and creative idea :>) - you mentioned looking a projects like this a while back and it's so great to see you've gone out and DONE it!
The work looks great and I bet it's brilliant seeing it all together :>)
Love the recent work too
Thanks Toni and Vivien. This was so much fun and I really have some big ideas for the space and the project.
The nice hanging job is entirely due to the expertise of Fred from maintenance whom the Chief depends for all his hanging needs. He's brilliant.
Thanks Vivien. I loved the sites on vacation and am still working from photos now!
A wonderful idea! And, I'd say, a well-chosen starting point.
Hope it generates lots of positives, both for the officers and the public.
Thanks moreidlethoughts. Your lips to God's ears!
This is looking great, Lindsay. I - like the others - like the idea of unusual locations. I'm very curious what feedback you get, and what's gonna happen next. Interesting one: a lot of my academic work involves the police in one way or another.
I'll keep my fingers crossed for great feedback and much interest!
I am a big proponent of putting art in non traditional spaces and so I really LOVE your choice and idea. I wish you the best with it. Lovely work.
Thanks Gesa and JafaBrit. I'm hoping many people "rip off" this idea and spread the art around thier communities.
Gesa, I have so many ideas rolling around that I'm afraid to spill them in public yet. It all depends on the officers and staff of the station. It's their space and my focus is on listening to what they feel is good for the station envrionment. I'd also like to gain thier trust and maybe try something that's a stretch for this community.
Congrats on getting your show up! I see now what you were saying to my last comment. :)
It looks great and I think it's a great idea. I am a big supporter of bringing art to the everyday. If you think about the population as a whole, the number that actually go into galleries is very small. But everyone loves to look at art, so sometimes we need to bring it to them.
My FIL was a police officer and chief of police out in the nw suburbs for many years-i'm going to tell him about your project. I wonder what he'll think. I'll let you know!
Many thanks Birdgette! I'd be interested to see what he thinks too. Would you be interested in loaning work for a show this year? I realise you are probably busy getting yourself settled and finding a local gallery but maybe you could think about it. I'm crzy about your work and I would love to show it there! If you are interested please email me.
Congratulations, Lindsay. What a fabulous idea! Art improves any environment, and especially when people like the chief are open to it. I applaud also your focus on the non-trained or nonprofessional artist; in my own experience, there are so very many people who make, or desire to make art, but who, for whatever reason, denigrate the impulse and/or the result--and it is such a shame, what a loss for us all!
Well said Laura!
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