Spring 2017 Synergy Research Events Dates & Themes:

Creative Placemaking: The World Beyond the Studio

Thursday, February 23, 2017 (4-5:30 pm), Main 110

The National Endowment for the Arts argues that "in creative placemaking, partners from public, private, non-profit, and community sectors strategically shape the physical and social character of a neighborhood, town, city, or region around arts and cultural activities. Creative placemaking animates public and private spaces, rejuvenates structures and streetscapes, improves local business viability and public safety, and brings diverse people together to celebrate, inspire, and be inspired." Creative placemaking implicitly guides many agendas and programs at MICA, and has increasingly informed a number of city initiatives such as the various Arts Districts that populate the city, as well as a myriad of art events, projects, and outreach campaigns (Operation Storefront, Artscape and Light City are some examples). We invite faculty who have worked with concepts of site specificity, public art and space, socially engaged art, community-oriented art, and other related categories of art production, to critically explore the concept of creative placemaking and its uses around campus and beyond.

Materials from this event:
Funding for Creative Placemaking | NEA Creative Placemaking Report | How to do Creative Placemaking

Presenters:

Katryna Carter
Senior Associate for Visual Arts, National Endowment for the Arts
Part-Time Faculty, Architectural Design
Presentation | Contact

Katryna spoke about the NEA Publication How to Do Creative Placemaking, an action-oriented guide for making places better. This book is intended to be a primer for those interested in bringing the arts to the community development table, along with other sectors such as transportation and housing, to address the challenges of revitalizing communities.  The book describes the diverse ways that arts organizations and artists can play an essential role in the success of communities across America. Through 28 essays from creative leaders along with 13 case studies from practitioners, it offers insights and examples on how to do creative placemaking in an authentic way.

Betty Gonzales
MFA Candidate in Curatorial Practice, 2017
Presentation | Contact

Betty addressed Baltimore's attempt to redevelop parts of the city through creative placemaking events using the Bromo Arts and Entertainment District as a case study. Looking at spaces like LeMondo, EMP Collective, and Current Space, we see how artists have come together to create a network of artists and arts organizations who are a part of and can make an impact on the changes and development that is happening in and around the Bromo District. Betty will also speak briefly about her thesis project Front, an augmented-reality and online exhibition addressing issues of urban renewal by reimagining vacant storefronts throughout the Bromo Arts and Entertainment District. Accompanying the exhibition will be a series of walking tours focusing on the history, design, and uses of key sites representative of the area's heritage, culture, and development.

Quentin Moseley
Faculty, Printmaking
Contact

Quentin presented his large-scale outdoor animated neon murals, including Gateway Baltimore, a commission from the 2016 edition of Light City Baltimore. He will share information about the planning stages for a future reinstallation of the piece, which he views as a "homage to the citizens of Baltimore."

Jann Rosen-Queralt
Faculty, Interdisciplinary Sculpture
Contact

Jann will discuss ARGO, an immersive installation produced in collaboration with Marian Ochoa and Kirsten Walsh for the 2017 edition of Light City Baltimore. ARGO underscores the profound influence of water. Light and water share emotional and physical properties: both provide life or hope, and instill fear or trust. The Greek myth of Argo serves as the inspiration; reminiscent of a boat's hull. ARGO addresses events formed by water, and how Baltimore's water systems are precariously changing.

Nick Petr
Co-founder and Cultural Studies Instructor, Oak Hill Center for Education and Culture 
BFA ‘05 | MFA Curatorial Practice '16

Oak Hill Center for Education and Culture is a school for learning, researching, sharing, and exploring creative strategies and tools for transformative social movement building. It identifies organizers, educators, and artists committed to economic and social justice. Oak Hill aims to foster the role of cultural organizers in shaping ideas, consciousness, and collective action to build transformative change across race, gender and social differences. Its program and agenda is shaped by the city of Baltimore as well as a network of regional, national and international agents which are regularly invited to participate in the school's activities.

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Documentary Arts

Tuesday, March 7, 2017 (12-2pm), Brown 413

Colleagues were invited to join an exploration of the intersections between documentary and creative practice. The session will probe an expanded understanding of "documentary" methods that artists, designers, filmmakers, videographers, journalists, poets, performers, and architects use to record and convey contemporary life and culture, interpret the effects of history on the present, and illuminate social injustices. Methodologies explored include photography, moving images, audio, narrative writing, data visualization, mapping, design, performance, new media, as well as any related practices that record and archive social realities.

Materials from this event:
Funding Opportunities for Documentary Arts | Aperture Magazine, issue #214, Spring 2014 Documentary, Expanded

Attendees were encouraged to put together a very short overview about their practice, one that can be shared in 5 minutes and no more than 5 slides (alternately 5 minutes of video/audio/time-based media). 

Some questions considered in these presentations:

What is the scope and nature of your practice, as related to documenting and interpreting real-world events?

How does your work contribute to an expanded understanding of documentary arts?

In what ways do you ensure positive ethics and what best practices would you share?

What collaborative models have worked well for you, with regard to either working with other artists or in partnership with communities? 

Presenters:

Nate Larson
Lauren Adams
Kirsten D'Andrea Hollander
Jay Gould
Alexander Heilner
Shreyas R. Krishnan
Sam Lacombe
Allen Moore
Tony Shore
Colette Veasey-Cullors