Public Art and MARP

(A quick cut-and-paste before I head to Richmond for the weekend.  This event, happening today, sounds very cool.  MARP is slated to be woking on a number of public art projects!) Myrtle Avenue Public Art Program presents:

Saturday, August 30, 2008, 12-3pm

During Ingersoll Family Day

Ingersoll Houses, Myrtle Avenue between Prince & Navy

The Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership (the Partnership) and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) have collaborated to inaugurate the Partnership’s new Myrtle Avenue Public Art program this Saturday, August 30, with the 11-month installation of pieces from the internationally-known Tree Hugger Project (www.treehuggerproject.com) on NYCHA Ingersoll housing development grounds near Myrtle and Prince.  The Partnership’s new Myrtle Avenue Public Art program is an effort to bring public sculpture, art installations, studio art, and creative street furniture elements to the public spaces and sidewalks of the 20-block retail district, increasing access to art for the entire community.  The sculpture installation at Ingersoll will include an opportunity for community members to participate in the building of Tree Hugger figures as part of Ingersoll’s annual family day celebration. Both the Partnership and Ingersoll Tenant Association invite all local residents to join the celebration, and welcome the Tree Huggers to our community during the community build, which will take place from 12:00pm – 3:00pm that day.

Tree Hugger Project artists Wiktor Szostalo and Agnieszka Gradzik will be installing a total of four pieces on Myrtle Avenue as a part of their ongoing public art project that combines environmental sculpture made of natural, found and free materials such as twigs, vines and tree branches with a simple environmental message. The Project is an ongoing work of Environmental Art designed to help us re-discover our relationship with nature at a very personal and intimate level. The focus on the stewardship of public space demonstrates that standing up for the environment can be done in a fun and non-political way, and that contemporary art can be entertaining and make a difference in how we view our world. Community participation in the construction and installation of the Tree Huggers helps to highlight the role that we all can play as stewards in our very own neighborhood, reminding us that we humans are still very much a part of our natural surroundings.  The Tree Hugger Project has been brought to cities and parks all over the world as a way to bring attention to the environment and to bring communities together, and Myrtle Avenue is excited to be part of this international movement.

These art installations are part of the larger Myrtle Avenue Arts & Enterprise Initiative which represents a multi-faceted effort to establish the retail corridor as an access point to visual art and cultural activities for community members of diverse socio-economic backgrounds. The Tree Hugger Project serves as a kick-off for the Partnership’s new public art program, launching both an open call for proposals for additional temporary sculpture pieces for locations along Myrtle Avenue as well as a request for sponsors to support future artists and their installations. Seed funding for the new program was provided by the Lily Auchincloss Foundation and Myrtle’s Business Improvement District.

Where: Myrtle Avenue near Prince Street (adjacent to the community center)

Date: Saturday, August 30, 2008

Time: 12 pm - 3 pm

Price: Free, with free food and drink from the Ingersoll Tenant Association’s annual Family Day for those who come

Organization Hosting Event: Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership, Ingersoll Tenant Association, New York City Housing Authority

Website: www.myrtleavenue.org

Contact Name: Meredith Phillips Almeida, Director of Community Development

Phone: 718-230-1689