Did anybody hear how the !POWAR! reception went?

I sadly was unable to attend the !POWAR! reception at the last Gallery Hop on October 1st. Did anyone attend or hear how it went?

!POWAR! (People of Winston-Salem Art Reclamation Program) is a program to use public art to fight graffiti and raise awareness of gang activity. A pilot program was held during the summer after East Ward Council Member Derwin L. Montgomery held meetings with local artists to come up with creative ways to fight graffiti.

During the pilot program, nine students age 11-15 worked with artist Marianne DiNapoli-Mylet to create a “mobile” mural on sailcloth that will be used to introduce the program to schools, corporations and organizations. The students also created a gang-prevention coloring book that will be printed and distributed to local schools.

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.

Ars urbi serviat - Public Art in Winston-Salem: If life is a blank book, shouldn't we put art in it?

Here is a link back to a post from another local blog Ars urbi serviat on an art program that the Forsyth County Public Library is currently promoting.

Ars urbi serviat - Public Art in Winston-Salem: If life is a blank book, shouldn't we put art in it?

The Forsyth County Public Library is kicking off its Summer Reading Program with a public community arts project that encourages kids and teens to "leave their mark" by writing, sewing, drawing, painting, and/or adding photographs and stickers to several bound books put together by library staff. Books can be checked out under several themes including "Memories," "Dreams," "Winston-Salem," "Love," and more.

A vital benefit of public art- why we all want it so much- is that the beauty it produces builds our community. It gives our city a sense of place and its residents a feeling of belonging. These books, though not quite so public, also create a community identity by recording the thoughts, emotions, and artistic expressions of our local residents. This collaborative art project will serve as an artistic expression of W-S in 2009 for years to come. Libraries are such great archives for this type of thing- we should really be thinking more about how we can inject our local community into our library.