Shine A Light 2009-2014
Over the past five years I have worked with the Education Department of the Portland Art Museum on an ongoing series of programs and events related to Shine a Light. Shine a Light is a collaboration that we developed with the Education Department and the Education Committee of the Portland Art Museum in 2009 that connects socially engaged art to museum publics to create a space in which to rethink what could happen in a museum. Centered around an annual one night event that hosts over twenty artists creating site-specific work for the museum, I have worked with the museum to create ways for the spirit of Shine a Light to be an ongoing presence in the museum through a residency program, a class that was offered jointly through the museum and PSU, and ongoing artist projects that happen throughout the year.
Shine a Light is an event that succeeds in working with new publics and developing new audiences. The one night event draws between 2,000–3,000 visitors to the museum each year.
The Lovers, The Dreamers, and Me: Lecture
A one night performance and artist talk in collaboration with local Calgary musicians. The lecture was delivered throughout a set list of songs performed together that reference dreams, utopian leanings, relationship breakdowns, and leading a meaningful life. The songs served as anchor points to discuss socially engaged art practice, as well as content to contemplate collaborative impulses, and the potential artists have of imagining new ways of being in the world together.
