Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Street Art - Public Art


Leona Strassberg Steiner
Semester Project
Street Art-Public Art

My project aims to promote art to people that were never in a museum in their lifetime. Street art is now becoming so mainstream that it is being auctioned off at the most prestigious auction houses in the country. So it seems only logical to bring it into the classroom and to as many people in downtown Jersey City as possible. My after school art program, Alley Arts, has its entrance from the alleyway between Third and Fourth Street. Most of the traffic in the alley is neighbors coming home, drunks looking for a safe place to pee, dog walkers, children playing, and taggers. So why not bring art to everyone?

My plan for this project is twofold, first an empty wall painted white, for taggers, street artists, and students to have a go at making the alleyway a public outside museum, by creating street art or tagging. Giving invited artists and students a theme every couple of months to create wall art in that specified them. The second part of the project is on the adjacent wall I will build a large box, where art will be exhibited. Sometimes art by my students, other time art by artist friends, and hopefully this will become a regular way for artists and students in the area to show work.

The first show will include artists from NJCU as well as Jersey City artists from the neighborhood, of which there are many. The first theme for both walls will be “Summer in the City” after the work is completed there will be a garden party/happening with additional space in my garden for artists to show their work. I hope this will become a regular event that will happen three or four times a year. Knowing how the creative mind of children can explode and morph I would love to also incorporate making art from objects we see on the street as well. Watch out Jersey City! Alley Arts is on the prowl!


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