Solar Farm Doubles as Art Installation

Beautiful and breathtaking- you must check out this post from inhabitat.com on Light Sanctuary, designed by Martina Decker and Peter Yeadon.

Image from DeckerYeadon.com.

British Plan to Cut Arts Funding by 40%

So the British plan to slash arts funding by up to 40%, anticipating and expecting it to increase the philanthropic drive of the British people to save its own arts culture from faltering under such a large funding gap. While this fly-by-the-seat-of-your-knickers rationale…hmm…I’m left without much to say.

Arts organizations, especially the small ones, are always on the brink of folding in the U.S. How can arts survive? Combine form and function.

WFU Grad Explains How Photovoice and Psychology Came Together in Kenya

Janelle recently helped me make a discovery--North Carolina has some booming activity going on in Photovoice.

Janelle Summerville is a recent graduate of Wake Forest University and a current doctoral student at the University of Virginia. While attending WFU, she traveled to Kenya for a summer and asked female students there to document their identities using a digital camera. Janelle is a student of psychology, and these photographs provided her with wonderful qualitative data that helped shed light on the values of Kenyan girls--but I divulge too much. I'd rather let Janelle's words speak for themselves. The text of a short e-mail interview I did with Janelle is provided below. And thanks again for sparking my interest in Photovoice. I had no idea there was such a deep pool of scholarship and activity going on in this field. I can't wait to share posts on other NC projects later...

Janelle with the girls of Saint Edwin's Children's Home in Kimende, Kenya

Triad Community Arts: Why photography? What made you choose this medium to study self-esteem in Kenyan girls?

Janelle Summerville: As I was preparing to go to Kenya, I read several articles and books about incorporating art into psychological research. I became particularly engaged by the idea of utilizing different methods to encourage the power of the participant to actively play a role in representing themselves, rather than simply be represented by the researcher. Photography stood out for me for several reasons. From an artistic standpoint, the thought of seeing raw photography was fascinating to me. I was intrigued by the concept of what level of honest work would come out of girls who had never used a camera before and had lives that are not as image/media-dense as we have in the States. Secondly, I felt that photography gave the girls an opportunity to capture snippets of their lives in ways that transcends conversation and is not restricted the same way by self-perceived talent like you would find using painting or dance. Thirdly, the permanence and emotional power of it. Photography provided a way to capture a small segment of the reality of their daily experience and bring it back to present to others and share the experience, share their struggle in a way that a thousand words could not. Pictures speak to people and make things real for them, so I felt that it was my responsibility to bring that all back with me.

TCA: In the article I read [on Wake's website], you stated that Kenyan girls do not tend to value themselves as individuals the same way U.S. children do. What values did you find some of the girls had?

JS: In the short time I was there, I found that academics were highly valued, being useful to the group as a whole (through work to sustain and maintain the children’s home such as cooking, cleaning, food errands, etc.) was also highly valued. Girls as young as 7 would participate in the daily operations of the building in a way that many U.S. children would not be allowed to – but it was of vital importance that the girls worked together to promote the well-being of all. Physically, long hair was valued, although the girls all had their hair completely cut off. Additionally, I was a bit surprised to hear how highly valued light skin and more caucasian traits were.

TCA: How was the process of using photography to collect information different from using surveys or interviews? What benefits and drawbacks did you find with this process?

JS: They worked so well together. Photography opened up conversations in interviews that would have never happened and allowed for a starting point for discussion and exploration. Surveys, in my opinion, often offer a preliminary understanding similar to a sketch before it is filled in with paint or a skeleton without flesh. It’s a wonderful base and support from research, but neglects some of the detail you can get with interviews and an artistic method. In the end, I used a mixed-method approach and photography was an integral part of the full picture of self in the context of an orphaned Kenyan girl. The only drawbacks came from the organizational aspects such as downloading and labeling the COUNTLESS photos that the girls took. Additionally, the director of the children’s home did not want me to leave the cameras with the girls for fear that they would be assaulted for them or feel driven to sell them for food, etc. I felt silly for not considering that possibility, but was able to adjust my plan in order to accompany them to different places and spend enough time with them each day that we could get diverse photographs to represent their daily lives and experiences. The major benefit was the look on the girl’s face taking photographs as they ran around capturing anything and everything. It was such a joy being able to be a part of that and giving them a chance to represent themselves in that way.

Upcoming August Events

African American Atelier Presents: 25UNDER25
Through August 6 - Greensboro Cultural Center - Greensboro
25under25 highlights a diverse group of eclectic and vibrant young artists from the Triad Community. An extensive range of expression and media will be showcased, integrating the experiences and perspectives of the members of the millennial generation.
333.6885 or info@africanamericanatelier.org

Pathway to Freedom
Through August 20 - 8 PM - Snow Camp Outdoor Drama Site - Snow Camp
An exciting account of the struggles and heroism of the 1840's and 1850's along the "Underground Railroad" from NC to Indiana. Both individuals and some organized religions fought slavery in the legislature and on the farms, while some, led volunteers and free slaves in clandestine efforts to help escaping slaves to freedom. Music in the play is the music of the period and enriches the emotions of the play.
800.726.5115 or snowcampot@aol.com

Alternate Roots Annual Meeting
August 10 - 15 - Lutheridge Conference Center - Arden, NC
In 2010, Alternate ROOTS launches a three-year initiative, The Aesthetics of Diversity. It will explore issues and opportunities to advance a progressive agenda in the South through the lens of the South’s newest citizens, immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries, India, Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. Aesthetics of Diversity will examine questions of art and culture focusing on place in 2010, people in 2011, and traditions in 2012. The goal is to build bridges across and among diverse communities and inform discussions such that members of various communities have a lens through which to view how they may positively impact change in their community.
404.577.1079

Photography Dialogs: John Rosenthal and Linda Foard Roberts
Wednesday, August 11 - 5:30 PM - Green Hill Center for NC Art - Greensboro
Rosenthal will speak about his latest series of color photographs of New Orleans taken one year and a half after Hurricane Katrina. Roberts will present her large format digital photographs "Simple Truths" portraying her family and home. Both photographers will then discuss the nature of their medium.
333.7460 or liz.busch@greenhillcenter.org

Recycle Labyrinth Swap-a-Thon
Saturday, August 14 - 2-5 PM - SECCA Grounds - Winston-Salem
During the Swap-a-Thon event, volunteers from Piedmont Craftsmen will help guide visitors through creating and experiencing the labryinth.The community is asked to bring useable household items (non-clothing) that they can incorporate into the labyrinth while walking through it. (Please limit the size of the items to be no larger/heavier than a microwave oven. If you can't carry it easily, then it is too big.)Visitors may also select one item to take home that they can use, making the labyrinth an ever-changing installation as items are added and taken away.At the close of the project, the labyrinth will be disassembled and left-over items will be donated to local non-profit organizations, such as Habitat ReStore, Rescue Mission, and Goodwill Industries.
Free. 725.1904 or seccainfo@ncdcr.gov

Again and Never Again: Can We Coexist with Ourselves?
August 19 - September 1st - Guilford College Art Gallery - Greensboro
Environmental artist Bryant Holsenbeck will create, with community participation, a monumental installation made entirely from recycled materials, Aug. 19-Sept. 1. (316-2483 to schedule time.) She will discuss her endeavor to live one year without using disposable plastic products at the reception in the Guilford College Art Gallery, Wednesday, Sept. 1, 5-7 p.m. as part of 'green & beyond', the college-wide theme year on sustainability. Exhibition runs through Oct 1.

Lanterns of Hope
Saturday, August 28 - 6:30-9 PM - Summer on Trade - Winston-Salem
During Summer on Trade at the corner of Sixth and Trade Streets, the Forsyth County Public Library will be providing attendees with peace lanterns to decorate with their own art.
Free. E-mail esparze2@forsyth.cc.