Cities Never Die, They Transform

Cities, art brings them back to life

nyc subway “What the future looks like…” Photo Cybel Martin

Art rejuvenates cities and gives them new vitality. Large cities are where you get to see what the future is like. Cities are the most fun just before they are recognized as being fun, before the big bucks move in trying to buy the culture up. Culture is like an ocean, it goes where it wants and ignores the concept of money.

Cities are transformational experiences

Public transportation, like New York’s Subway is the best way to get around in a city, where your imagination is brought to life, where you can hear your own heart beating in sync with everyone else’s and where you are confronted with everything that is not you. Cities are where you can see the diversity of our young people and imagine the future.

Culture is like an ocean, it goes where it wants and ignores the concept of money.

A strong artist community can bring a city back to life.

Detroit is one of those cities that is poised for a creative comeback. Everything is in place. Those that left could not take with them the city’s creative possibilities. Those that stayed have to be hungry about making a positive difference otherwise they too must leave and make space for the dreamers.

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Jillian McDonald:Alone Together in the Dark

Jillian McDonald:Alone Together in the Dark

Social Studies Project 5
Artist in residence in the gallery: October 5-November 14, 2009
Exhibition: October 5, 2009-January 9, 2010

Social Studies challenges the traditional exhibition format by opening with an empty gallery and an artist in residence who considers social interaction a crucial part of their art-making. Visitors are invited into the gallery to participate with the artist to create objects and installations, or to observe and question the process. Working through public/private partnerships with multiple ASU departments, schools and community organizations, the project brings museum visitors into the art-making process, invites extensive collaboration with community and university students, and greatly enhances the museum’s role as a vital gathering place.

In this, our fifth Social Studies project, Canadian artist Jillian McDonald will explore sustainability in the museum while including grassroots, community conversations. “At this point, my thoughts for the Tempe project circulate around haunted sites, ghosts and abandoned houses, focusing on ideas around sustainable living, ghost towns and The Day of the Dead,” says McDonald. “I will be visiting Arizona in June to get acquainted with the landscape and local customs, and to further develop site-specific ideas.”

Usually, a work of art is created in the solitude of an artist’s studio, shipped to an exhibition space and installed by museum staff; this project will allow museum visitors direct access to a contemporary artist and her creative process. Research, discussion and art-making are the subject matter of Social Studies rather than a behind-the-scenes activity.

The project will culminate in an installation, led by the artist, which will remain at the museum beyond the six-week residency. There are few artists in Phoenix who work in this method and, as the city continues to mature, projects like Social Studies will play an important role in presenting new ways to make, think about and participate in art.

Inquires

Arizona State University Art Museum
Tenth Street and Mill Avenue
Tempe, AZ 85287-2911
t. 480.965.2787
f. 480.965.5254
e. asuartmuseum@asu.edu
w. http://asuartmuseum.asu.edu
blog. http://asuartmuseum.wordpress.com/

Donations to the ASU Foundation

A Cause “Dance”

A Cause “Dance”

Dancers and Alonzo King-- Rouen, France June 2009

Dancers and Alonzo King-- Rouen, France June 2009

The Alonzo King’s  Lines Ballet is one of many extraordinary Ballet Companies in the country, all of which are deserving of support. If you wish, go to their donation page and contribute what you can.

“San Francisco treasure, embodying the best of San Francisco, the creative excellence and diverse culture of this city.” San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom

Love What You do

Love What You do

The key to a great career is to be totally in love with what you do. Helen Mirren must have been in more then 50 movies and a equal amount of plays and TV series. She is remarkably in that she continues to work.  Her first credits go back to 1967. hellen mirren

London’s  National Theatre Production of  Phèdre starring Ms. Mirren, performed in London and screened at Mann Chinese Theatre in LA yesterday. These kinds of screenings   make theatre accessible and affordable again. No travel and no enormous Broadway ticket price.

There is a review on the LA Times blog but there are also tweets by the theater goers. Pretty nice.