professional membership
Featured Member
| Project: | Interim Art Space at Burien's Town Square |
| Organization: | Burien/Interim Arts Space (B/ IAS) |
|
| Photograph is of a sculpture at the Burien Town Square opening event of the Burien Interim Project. |
The recent economy has affected the nation in many ways. Some of the visible signs can be seen on city blocks where development has begun on new high rise offices or condos. But once the ground has been cleared and in some cases building begins, then the money and funding runs out. The block is left as an eye sore in a community until the developer can raise enough money, or get the loans to continue building, or sells it to someone else.
Dane Johnson and Kathy Justin have launched a new endeavor in Seattle to address this issue. The Burien/Interim Art Space (B/ IAS) is a year-long experiment that combines concepts of art with temporary green spaces and engages the community in transformation of a place. Dane and Kathy recognized that they could utilize the temporarily empty space as the foundation for a new art and community collaboration that hosts newly installed sculptures for one year. Should construction continue to be delayed, there is even the possibility that it could be extended even further.
The first “interim” project is located at Burien's Town Square displaying temporary art piece, The Passage, a sculpture depicting a mother and child walking together to share and explore life. The mother stands 30’ and the child 20’ tall. They are fabricated out of recycled and scrap metal. The artwork was originally created for the 2005 Burning Man Arts Festival by Dan Das Mann and Karen Cusolito.
This project is not only showcasing the art and artist, but the vehicle for creating a gathering place for the Burien community and engaging them in the volunteer process of transforming their landscape—generating an energy that the community will benefit even after that particular project is over.
B/ IAS is a collaboration between Ignition Northwest, the Burien Arts Commission, Urban Partners, and GGLO. The model B/ IAS has created is one that seems fitting for other arts groups to take on in their city.
We want to hear from you! If you have a project you would like to tell us about, please e-mail membership@artsusa.org with the subject "featured member project."
| Organization Contact: | Dane Johnson and Kathy Justin |