Art in the Market Building Beauty in Community
Date: July 24, 2002
By: Nancy Brinker< and Karen Hutzel
Phone: (513) 556-5465
Photos by Colleen Kelley
Archive: General News
In times of crisis, it is to art that one can turn to find the center of
Society. Societies are not remembered by their battlements, but by
their art. Art is an essential reminder of what it is in life that lasts,
of why one lives. What else in our lives can do this? Bella Lewitzky
The words of legendary modern dancer and choreographer, Bella Lewitzky, reveal the power of art as an agent of beauty, of education, and of social change. Young artists aged fourteen to eighteen -- all inner city residents -- are discovering the transformational power of art through their participation in the program, Art in the Market.
Art in the Market, in its sixth year, employs at-risk youths to work with art students and educators at the University of Cincinnati's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
to conceptualize, develop, create and install public works of art in the Findlay Market area. The program is a project of the University's Community Design Center in collaboration with the Citizen's Committee on Youth and Impact Over-the-Rhine.
The process is yearlong. In the fall and winter, eligible students attend twice weekly after school classes taught at the University of Cincinnati. The courses are taught by a graduate assistant who also collaborates with the program's city partners. In the spring, the students begin the process of designing public art. Final selections are created and installed during an eight-week summer program.
The Summer 2002 program is in full swing. Coordinated by graduate assistant Karen Hutzel, this year's Art in the Market, employees three University art students and fifteen youths. Four teams, working collaboratively with professional artists in the community, are now in the final stages of installing four major pieces of public art.
Banners
The finished banners will be both colorful and inspirational, giving vision to the words: harmony, diversity, vivacity and essence. The students, led by Hutzel, not only selected the themes, but also are executing the banners through their new knowledge of design and computer graphics. The group banners will hang around the Findlay Market parking lot (near the Chamber of Commerce).
4' x 8' Black and White Panels
The panels are stylized paintings based on student photographs of the Over-the-Rhine community. Led by teaching artist and Graduate Assistant, Patty New, the students incorporated lessons in painting, value study, and photography (camera and computer).
The panels will be installed on the temporary construction barriers surrounding the Findlay Market House.
Aluminum Sculptural Chair
UC fine art Student and teaching artist Angie Hed led her group of two African-American boys and two female students (recent refugees from Afghanistan) in a the design of an aluminum chair. The chair will be given depth and texture through the inscription of English text accompanied by its Arabic translation.
Tile Mosaic
Fine art student Terri Brandon and her team designed a 140' x 3' mosaic to be installed on the retaining wall surround the west end of the Vine Street playground. The mosaic, representing "Growth," features stylized trees, flowers, butterflies, and streetscapes.
Additionally, an especially talented young artist, Kenny Welch, is leading his own project, a mural inside the temporary Art in the Market headquarters. The space, generously donated by New Prospect Church, is envisioned to become a cultural community art center.
Through Art in the Market, the Over-the-Rhine and the University of Cincinnati communities are both "serving and being-served." The young artists are learning about the fine arts, design, urban planning, teamwork and collaboration, and the university environment, all while attaining a sense of civic responsibility. In the words of student artist Brittany Sparks, "It bettered me as a person because before working with Art in the Market, I really didn't like living in Over-the-Rhine. Now I feel more a part of my community." Similarly, the lives of the University's educators are enhanced as they are exposed to the educational possibilities of young artists and participate in the healing and renewal of a complex and dynamic urban environment.
The program is funded the University of Cincinnati, The Ohio Urban University program and the Ohio Arts Council. For more information, call Frank Russell, director of the Community Design Center, at (513) 556-3283.
Schedule for Art in the Market
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