Community Practice
Before studio practice, there was community practice. For many years I worked alongside youth, neighbors, and local organizations to design and build public art that belonged to the people who'd live with it- murals, sculptures, installations, and environments rooted in specific places and communities. That way of working still shapes how I approach every project.
DRIFT BENCH
Milwaukee, WI · Artists Working in Education + UWM School of Architecture, 2015
Originally designed by UWM architectural graduate students and displayed at Milwaukee International Airport, the Drift Bench was reclaimed and reinstalled at the Mitchell Park Domes. Working through Artists Working in Education, I collaborated with a team of youth leaders to develop a new color scheme and rebuild the ergonomic bench with the community- piece by piece, painted together.
Community paint days
“You Have Everything You Need” Mural
R House, Baltimore · Holistic Life Foundation, 2022
Over 12 weeks, young people in the Holistic Life Foundation's Holistic Roots mentoring program explored mindfulness, self-love, and growth — meeting virtually, sketching ideas, and building toward a shared vision. The mural they designed together was painted by the youth themselves over a week of community paint days at R House.
Community paint days
"Reunify" Public Art Installation
Druid Park Reservoir Hill Youth, Jubilee Arts Youth, Bikemore, 2019
Commissioned by Bikemore, I worked with a collective of artists in my neighborhood, Reservoir Hill, to interview residents about access to Druid Hill Park and the Big Jump bike-lane, and collect motivational quotes to inspire those joying the park. The Big Jump is an effort to slow down car traffic to encourage (and keep safe) walkers, runners, mobile device users and bikers along Druid Park Lake Drive down to 28th St overpass. The final installation included 8 temporary sculptures along the drive.
