AVA Offers New Public Art Projects

Public art can be much more than a sculpture in a public space. Public art can be a dynamic, collaborative, community-based project that encourages people to engage in a creative process that benefits the world in which they live.

In Spring 2009, AVA offered a successful public art class, Lino-Cut and A Public Art Project! Instructor Josh Yunger worked with a group of artists from the AVA community to create original linoleum-cut printing blocks. The artists produced 300 individual artworks on brown grocery bags contributed by The Lebanon Co-op, The Upper Valley Food Co-op, and The Lebanon Village Market. Once printed, the bags were returned to the markets, where they went back into circulation and were given away to customers. Lino-Cut and A Public Art Project! was a playful experience that resulted in 300 original artworks produced by the community for the community -- and distributed for free!

AVA is pleased to announce several other Public Art Projects for Fall 2009, and we invite you to participate. Lino-Cut Printmaking and A Public Art Project II! and Watercolor Painting and A Public Art Project! are listed in the Adults and Teens section of this publication, and Vibrant Color and a Public Art Project! in the Children and Teens section. In the spirit of collaboration and inclusiveness, these three classes, for all ages and abilities, are being offered at reduced cost. In a new partnership between AVA and Advance Transit (www.advancetransit.com), our free community public transportation service, the artworks produced in these sessions will be displayed on buses throughout the Upper Valley. Imagine not only gaining new skills in an AVA art class, but also having created "moveable art!" This is a great way for us to come together to beautify our community and to make art a part of our daily life in the Upper Valley!