Thursday, August 07, 2008

Summer Projects















There are a good number of projects simmering and stewing, almost completed and ready to be shared. Among them are:

CHINA, Portraits (Shanghai, Beijing, Chenglu, Jingdezhen, Xian)
Shot over the course of a month's travel in eastern China, the film presents a series of portraits – poignant, funny, confusing, bland, and charming – of people in rapidly changing neighborhoods and towns. Not quite a travelogue, and far from an ethnography, this quiet testament to the power of portraiture asks us to consider the pleasures, discomfort, and dangers of looking.

Animal Portraits: Milwaukee (Pierce St Public School / Woodland Pattern, Milwaukee, WI)
A 3-month art class with a small group of 4th and 5th graders results in an exciting series of different animal personas. Masks, costumes, backdrops, song, and dance (all made by the children) come together in a celebratory collective portrait that also reflects our own
magnetic yet mystifying relationship with other creatures.

Our Dreams Are Waiting For Us Around the Corner: Images from a Photo Booth and Thank-You-Letter-Writing Party at NEIGHBORS (May 2008).
The beautiful B/W medium format images from the Photo Booth are finally in our possession and awaiting a venue in which to be shared. We are exploring different printing options and hope to create a book that contains the images as well as critical writing about the project and its context, as well as about the neighborhood and our community.

NEIGHBORS Space/Gallery
There is movement to create an artist residency program at the NEIGHBORS storefront space. Anyone interested in such ventures should send word! citizenandneighbor@gmail.com

The Citizen Jane Film Festival
The new women's film festival - premiering this October in Columbia, Missouri - continues to build momentum, boasting a line up of extraordinary women makers and films.
Please check out the blog: citizenjanefilmfestival.blogspot.com