I have two small items this week. Both are important community arts events and both rely on you to make them successful.
Saturday, June 9 Women Occupy San Diego (WOSD) will be hosting Occupy OUR Arts: A Celebration of the 99% Culture and Creative Arts. WOSD are responding to the arrest and three-day detention of a 19-year-old woman for using kid’s chalk to draw fanciful designs on Civic Center property. This was back in October during the Occupy Wall Street activities downtown. Occupy OUR Arts has been granted a permit to return to Civic Plaza and they are planning a festive, creative and interactive day of fun for the families of the 99 percent. All manner of kid-friendly arts activities will be happening to honor First Amendment rights in the form of freedom of creative expression.
With that in mind Women Occupy San Diego would like to hear from local artists who would like to get involved and share their creativity with the San Diego community. Both visual and performance artists are welcome. Anyone interested please contact Wendy Sue Biegeleisen at wsueb@aol.com or 619-563-1086.
… and in the museum
Anyone who lived through the dark days of the AIDS crisis will know about The Names Project, the AIDS Memorial Quilt that was created panel by panel, quilt by quilt by family members, friends and lovers of those who died from AIDS and HIV related complications. Every quilt was 3’x 6’ (coffin size) and each one was decorated to remember a special person. The AIDS quilt became a national phenomenon and is still growing and touring the country.
This summer the San Diego Museum of Art will be presenting a durational performance event titled The Quilt Conversation as part of its Summer Salon. Like many documentaries and exhibitions The Quilt Conversation looks back on that era of AIDS reflecting upon how histories are made, particularly when it comes to handmade craftwork like quilts and tapestries.
If you or anyone you know made a quilt for The Names Project then please contact me at andrew@andrewprinter.com to find out about how you can participate in a summer-long quilt making club to be held at the museum. If you didn’t make a quilt but would like to or if you were born after the 1980s and would like to learn about quilt-making and be part of this project I would be thrilled to hear from you as well. Sometimes art is about being in the audience or visiting a gallery. Sometimes it can be about you!
