SOMETHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT

 Title:  Freedom Balloons Artist:  Daniel Salinas Materials:  balloons, ribbon, dirt Freedom Balloons is a project that aims at commemorating and giving awareness to individuals who have sacrificed everything to cross the border. These balloons will be a mild commemoration for individuals who we lost in the desert in attempting to cross the U.S./Mexico border. The project will consist of blowing up brown balloons and filling up the house structure. Connected to the balloons will be a ribbon with small bags of dirt weighing them down. The dirt used to fill the bags will be dirt collected from the San Luis Mexico Border. Inside the bag will also be a small explanation of the significance of the dirt and the overall project. Balloons will be given away to spread awareness for the individuals and to commemorate their journey from one home to another.

Title:  Ego Alterations Artists:  RiAnn Holsonback and Amanda Shochat Materials:  women’s dresses, sewing machine, sewing supplies Welcome to Ego Alterations. We are strengthening the threads of society. Come visit our sew shop and be a part of the transformation as we deconstruct familiar “feminine” garments often connected with things fragile, soft, and demure and turn them into headdresses of empowerment. These on-site creations will be given to a few “customers” as part of their ego alteration representing the potential for transformation in the way of power, strength, and endurance. Guests are invited to participate in the creation process.

Title:   Porch Stories Artist:  Elizabeth Johnson Materials:   chairs, scrim In Porch Stories, Elizabeth invites individuals to join her on the “porch” to have a quiet moment of conversation reflecting about home.  Silhouetted behind a scrim, each exchange is framed artistically, and may include simple movement. The experience culminates in a short solo dance that draws from these personal exchanges. 

Title:   Centennial Postcard Set Artists:  Angela Ellsworth and Christian Filardo Materials:   100 sets of 4 4x6 postcard The Centennial Postcard set questions the idea of tourism and how people see location. By taking stock Google images and labeling them with a location they may or may not be in helps to question the role of place and the role of a visitor in a foreign space. These postcards will be gifted as a take away from the festival and distributed by hand to attendees of the Glendale Jazz and Blues Festival.

Title:   The Color of Blues Artist:  Laurel Wall-MacLane Materials:   durable paper, tempura paint Involve the festival-goers in a collaborative painting of a large-scale portrait on the side of the art structure  to celebrate and commemorate the life of and musicianship of Etta James.  Members of the public will collaborate to paint and assemble this colorful large scale portrait using an easy-to use paint by number system.

Title:   Kinetic Identity Patent Office Artist:  Justin Thomas Materials:   pre-made forms, office-type props A patent office/booth is set up at the shed structure where people can fill out forms that allow them to patent their dance movements. These are forms that people can fill out that grants them exclusive rights to perform and distribute their moves. Later in the evening after the patents are collected, there will be a performance demonstrating all the movements collected.

Title:   QR Code Symphony Artist:  Taylor Phillips Materials:   premade cards, participant cell phones Throughout the day, cards containing QR codes will be passed out, each representing one of several instruments in a jazz ensemble. When the QR code is scanned using a smartphone, the phone will be directed to a page containing a musical track played by the instrument represented on the card. When played   together, the individual instrumental tracks on each page form a complete jazz song. This way, when multiple festival-goers with different instrument cards scan the code, each of their phones will act as a jazz instrument, with the individual tracks blending together into a complete song. An embedded clock in each page will cause the music to play at predetermined times during the festival (ideally between sets on the main music stages), allowing the tracks to be synchronized across all of the phones. Festival-goers will be encouraged to group up and find others with different cards in order to complete the song. 

Title:   Poetic Speakeasy Artist:  Cherie Buck-Hutchinson Materials:   precut cards, writing utensils, gallery putty A poetic interaction in which festival attendees are invited into the collaboration of a fluid, poetic response to   the music. The exterior wall will be transformed to recall historical speakeasies through the application of words. Poster board precut to look like wall siding will have the invitation and how to participate on the back. Two people will be present at the site to facilitate the process while a third person hands out the invitations. The words will be interchangeable as a result of being applied with gallery putty. 

Title:   Bottled Inspiration Artist:  Samantha Lee Materials:   labeled glass jars, wooden shelf Bottled Inspiration is a participatory event.  Festival-goers are presented with a  label of nutritional facts for bottled inspiration. Participants are encouraged to write down their inspirations and draw out what they think inspiration looks like visually. Each of the jars is labeled in the format and style of a jam jar.  Each contains a small light that flickers in the darkness. The Nutrition Facts and Ingredients sections contain information about the jar’s essence (e.g. 100% recommended daily inspiration). After gathering enough inspiration, a symbol of inscription will be created from some of the sketches participants created during the evening hours.

Title:   UrbaNature Artists:  Blake Payan and Tea McMurray Materials:   photo and environmental installation UrbaNature is an interactive installation combining man-made and nature. Participants are asked to remove their shoes before entry. A grass walkway leads up to and covers the floors of the structure. Two projectors will show photos of urban and nature areas that overlap on a tree. Wind-chimes of varying materials hang from the ceiling. It is not required that their shoes be removed, but it is encouraged. The wind-chimes will be hung along a wooden structure, made by McMurray and Payan, that can be faceted to the roof of the structure.   Participants are encouraged to interact with the wind-chimes, and sometimes are forced to as some will extend to the ground.