Public Art at Vanderbilt
Are you an artist interested in making you work public? Do you want a community that supports your creativity? You have it!
A few days ago, I attended one of the three MAKEFEST lectures in Rand that were hosted by a public art organization called Kefi Collective, and I can say that I gained some interesting perspectives into the creation of art.
I arrived during the speech of Professor Mark Hosford; he talked about a project that prompts discussion about what should be considered a historical site. From what I gathered, he does this by placing signs in constructions zones that are generally contributing to gentrification. Of course, gentrification is the process by which low-income families are displaced by construction of real estate that benefits high-income families. By placing signs in these zones, he said, he is facilitating discussion of whether personal history of an area should be considered when developing said area. That was certainly an intriguing proposal!
The second man, Professor Mel Ziegler, talked in depth about three projects. My favorite was called Messages from Murray (Murray as in a community, not the hall on the Commons!). Basically, he procured various shipping containers (crates, boxes, etc.) from a few companies in the area, and he had participating citizens decorate the containers however they liked. By doing this, he spread the artistic influence of one relatively small community to a national and potentially international audience!
All that said, if you’re interested in showing off your artistic talent, you have a community at Vanderbilt!
