In our video recap of the Transformation Project Walk, Katy Mike Smaistrla, Education and Volunteer Coordinator at Earthways Center, explains the structure above, which a Construction Careers Center shop class built as part of their workshop with the Pulitzer, Earthways Center and the Lawrence Group. Last Thursday, the program, which was inspired by the Garbage Wall and formulated to teach sustainable design, drew to a close.

For the final session, representatives from the partnering organizations met with the students in their computer lab to discuss what was accomplished over the past few months. Everyone sat in a circle and took turns explaining what they learned. Afterwards, the class filled out surveys on the computers, as I pulled a few students out into the hallway for some digital feedback. Here is what those students had to say: Read the rest of this entry »

Construction Careers Center students examine Gordon Matta-Clark’s Reality Properties: Fake Estates. For more photos from this program visit our Flickr page.

Tuesday morning, students from a Construction Careers Center shop class toured Urban Alchemy/Gordon Matta-Clark for the first time. They have been hearing about the exhibition for months. Last fall, while requesting garbage donations, Jenny Murphy and Lisa Harper Chang visited CCC, a construction-focused charter school, to talk about Gordon Matta-Clark’s work and sustainable design. Jane Crawford made a special appearance at the school during the week the Wall was constructed.

In early February of this year, the Pulitzer, along with the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Earthways Center and the Lawrence Group, began the current program. Representatives from each organization and a teaching artist have been meeting with the class for lessons on community building, sustainability and design. The students are planning with their teacher to eventually build their own version of the Garbage Wall.

Faydreauna, a student at Construction Careers Center, shares her observations on Garbage Wall.

Paul Shattack, Assistant Professor at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work, shares memories conjured by Gordon Matta-Clark’s Bronx Floors.

Another month has passed, and it’s time again for Frame of Reference, a regularly scheduled program at the Pulitzer. Since our last exhibition, Ideal (dis-) Placements: Old Masters at the Pulitzer, the Pulitzer has hosted monthly in-gallery discussions, led by individuals with a range of backgrounds, about the artwork on display.

Visitor Services Manager Courtney Henson geared this Saturday to combine the perspectives of those specializing in art and those in social work. Our Senior Curator, Francesca Herndon-Consagra, who is the curator for Urban Alchemy/Gordon Matta-Clark, will be among the speakers.

You’ll note that the schedule for these 15-minute forums has changed from previous sessions to be all within 1-2:30pm, rather than at the beginning of every hour. This way, we hope you can stay for all of them and give your special viewpoint.

The partnership between the Pulitzer Foundation and the George Warren Brown School of Social Work was established in November of 2007. This past fall, near the second anniversary of the partnership, students at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University (GWB) created a new student group. The Community Arts Initiative, or CAI, was born into a family of a dozen other active student groups. But CAI’s birth could not have occurred at a more appropriate time.

With an influx of admitted students interested in the relationship between arts and social work coupled with the partnership between GWB and the Pulitzer Foundation maturing, CAI’s inception seems to be written in the stars. CAI’s mission explores building awareness of the role of art in social work and public health practice by creating community connections and providing educational opportunities. Read the rest of this entry »

Whew.  Our posting on 2buildings1blog this month has slowed, but our overall blogging activities are currently at full steam.  We’ve launched a website for Transformation – the community programming organized in conjunction with the Matta-Clark exhibition (which you can also explore online here).   A few highlights:

The Panel Series:  We’ve organized a panel discussion each month to explore topics related to Matta-Clark’s work within the context of St. Louis.  The key question we’ll address in each panel: “How do communities evolve and in what ways can their members guide the process?”  Within this online section we’ll feature interviews with the panelists, research info related to the topic, and full audio from the discussion shortly afterward.  I also attempt (key word) to live tweet each panel (http://twitter.com/thepulitzer).  The next panel just happens to be tomorrow (Oh! You’re in luck! And it’s free!).

Local Artists:  This is where the bulk of the blogging happens.  We’re documenting the three artist-run projects throughout the course of Transformation – hear updates from the artists, watch videos of the classes, even watch DIY videos to learn some of the skills yourself, and generally stay up-to-date as each project evolves.

Your St. Louis:  Definitely the most interactive of all the sections.  We’re posting candid interviews with St. Louis residents, to help paint a fuller portrait of the community.  Show us your St. Louis by adding photos to our Flickr group.  Show off your favorite route, by creating a custom Google Map for others to use.  We want to showcase what St. Louis means to those of us who live here.

Forum:  We’re hoping this section will grow into a place for discussion.  Want to expand on ideas you heard in the panel?  Want to ask an artist a question about their project?  This is the place to do it!

This website will continue to grow and shift as the programming grows and shifts, and as always, we’d love to get your feedback.  Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Realizing that I never finished my blog about Day 2 at the Harvard Art Museum’s Art and Medical Education conference, I thought I would add to those thoughts now. Coming off our visit to Detroit, where both the DIA and MOCAD sit in close proximity to the medical center, and headed to a visit to the Frist in Nashville, who maintains a strong relationship with Vanderbilt’s medical center, it seems as if there is growing energy and propelling those of us working in the art world to bridge the gap with those in the medical world. The points of intersection are numerous, whether they exist with engagement of patients, medical teams, students, residents, or otherwise.

As my position is jointly appointed with the Brown School of Social Work, who recently founded the Institute for Public Health, this is adding further fuel to this intellectual fire. For this particular partnership, my current mode of exploration, while broad in focus, continues to return to the theme of health disparities—how can art museums use an engagement around art to address health disparities? I would love your thoughts and comments about this particular train of thought.

Crew members from Earthworks Urban Farm in Detroit pose with their produce.

So my personal Detroit visit included conversations with Matt Sikora, head of evaluation at the DIA, and Jennifer Czajkowski, Direct of Interpretive Programs at the DIA. For those of you into evaluation, the DIA conducts what I consider to be an unprecedented amount of formative evaluation, or evaluation that is done during the formation of an exhibition (like market testing), which dovetails nicely with their strong commitment to innovative interpretive strategies, an effort in which Jennifer is highly instrumental. These interpretive strategies, the incorporation of which is based on the theoretical work of Abigail Housen and stages of aesthetic readiness, include thematic curation of exhibitions, specific language in wall text that isn’t necessarily rooted in art history, and other assistive devices, such as “I Spy” plaques and, my personal favorite, the table in their Fashionable Living exhibition that shows pieces on display being used in an 18th century dinner. The truly innovative model of how learning and interpretation (formerly, education) and curatorial interact to create one type of “optimal visitor experience” is somewhat antithetical to our approach, yet both of our institutions are striving toward the common goal of supporting the relevance of art in everyone’s lives. Read the rest of this entry »

The decline of the American City, particularly those for whom manufacturing was the primary economic driver, is long-standing topic of study and debate—a casualty of the most recent economic crisis or of more long-term political, social, and economic decisions and impasses. An expedition party from the Pulitzer ventured to Detroit recently, visions of Gordon Matta-Clark dancing in our heads and curiosity about how the arts were surviving in what is inadequately-described-as a challenging urban environment.

The flight to Detroit already spoke volumes, as we encountered what is becoming increasingly rare in this economy—a relatively empty flight. A friendly seatmate and Detroit suburb native shared with me the story of what industry still exists within Detroit, namely the military industrial complex that enables Windsor (part of Detroit’s metropolitan area) to continue to thrive. He also shared with me what would be the first of many glimmers and even rays of hope about the state of the arts—that he, a dedicated military contractor with very little arts interest otherwise, was a frequent and ardent visitor for the Detroit Institute of the Arts. We were greeted in Detroit by a sparkling new terminal, complete with indoor fountain, tram, and light and sound installation, and fairly easily found our way to Midtown Detroit, roughly equivalent to Grand Center in St. Louis. Read the rest of this entry »

At this time of year, it’s easy to wax poetic about reconnecting with old friends and family and the joys of the season, but hopefully we can avoid falling into over-sentimentality while still recognizing how important it is to take time to see old friends again and maintain relationships that have made an indelible impact on one’s life. It is in this spirit that we joyously reunited with the actors who participated in Staging Old Masters to see how everyone is faring and to make sure that the bonds of a company that are built through rehearsal and performance aren’t lost in the midst of the trappings of daily living. We were fortunate to be joined by a little more than half of our company last Tuesday evening, and I’m happy to share that all of those in attendance seemed happy, healthy, and doing very well.

One of them, Naheem Houston, is diligently pursuing his dreams of helping youth avoid the path he once followed while finishing up coursework at Florissant Valley Community College. The following are words from Naheem.

Naheem Houston describes what he likes and what he doesn’t really like about Urban Alchemy.

Naheem Houston:

I was looking forward to last Tuesday night since the Pulitzer sent me the invitation. I love and appreciate everybody that had anything to do with the success of the Staging Old Masters ensemble. The experience was truly a blessing that I will forever cherish, and the food was always a plus. I enjoyed meeting up with old friends and conversating about how life has been since we went our separate ways. I wish all the actors and staff could have made it out, just so I could see the look on everyone’s face in unity. We were the first in the pilot program, so we made history.

Director of the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, Matthias Waschek, introduces Urban Alchemy/Gordon Matta-Clark and describes how the exhibition fits with the Pulitzer and St. Louis.