Community Art Project: Hands Together in the Community

I have recently joined the board of a wonderful local artist community called Art Bias. It is just the perfect fit for me – a chance to build the arts and support artists in my local area. At several local events the past few months, I have had the opportunity to lead a community art project with the goals of bringing everyone together regardless of age or art ability to make a shared art project.

The beauty of this is it is less about the end product and more about the process… the goal is to have everyone participate. It is truly magical to watch people dive in and create and watch the piece evolve over time. The end product has also ended up being as rewarding as the process, as it is never as I initially expected. The process and the community truly inform the outcome!

Our town on the Peninsula of the San Francisco Bay Area has a yearly event called Hometown Days. It is like a stepping back into the past for the weekend. The weekend kicks off with a truly nostalgic parade featuring everyone from the 4H club to the local junior high band. There’s also a fun run, a pancake breakfast hosted by a local organization, a pet parade, an art contest, fair games, mini-fair rides and all kinds of booths filled with local information and artsy vendors.

We were there introducing the community to our mission and had our “Hands Together in the Community” art project out for all to contribute. Using a black permanent marker, and oil pastels on a 40″x40″ canvas, it was incredible to watch the artwork fill up so quickly- with layered handprints and a rainbow of colors. Truly a group effort and wonderful representation of our colorful community!

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