On October 10-11, AZ ArtWorker, a new artist-to-artist professional development program of the Arizona Commission on the Arts, was launched in Douglas, AZ. In November, an AZ ArtWorker workshop will be offered in Phoenix.
Scheduled to coincide with a pair of major arts events in Douglas–the border community’s first bi-national art walk and the exhibition of indigenous art collective Postcommodity’s bi-national land art installation Repellent Fence–AZ ArtWorker programming included a public conversation and an artist workshop.
Partnering with ASU Performance in the Borderlands, ASU Art Museum’s International Artist Residency Program, the organizers of Douglas’s Artwalk on G, and the Mexican Consulate in Douglas, the Arizona Commission on the Arts convened a public conversation on the evening of October 10. Raven Chacon, CristĂłbal MartĂnez and Kade L. Twist of Postcommodity opened the evening, sharing insights into their process and expressing gratitude for the support they had received on both sides of the border in the realization Repellent Fence. A panel of artists were then invited to take to the stage for a discussion of border art practices, politics and aesthetics. The panel included M. Jenea Sanchez of Douglas, Gabriela Munoz of Phoenix, Julio Cesar Morales of Phoenix, and Ana Teresa Fernández of Tampico and San Francisco. Over 100 people gathered in Placita del Sol Park to hear the artists share their thoughts and experiences.
The next morning, Sanchez and Fernández led an AZ ArtWorker artist training session, graciously hosted by the Center for Academic Success High School. Participants blended paints in an effort to match their own skin tone. They then applied the paint to 2′ x 2′ cardboard tiles. Fernández compared the application of the personalized flesh-tone paint to an artist signature. The project further functioned as an exploration of personal story, racial narratives and identity stereotypes. Sanchez and Fernández will be incorporating these tiles into a larger work, combining them with tiles created during other workshops.
Upcoming Workshops
In November, AZ ArtWorker will present a workshop in Phoenix. At this workshop, actress and playwright Anu Yadav will explore theatre as a tool for community organizing. Participants will learn how personal story and theatre can be used to engage social issues, with techniques based on Theatre of the Oppressed. Participants are encouraged to bring existing work to develop and share.
The workshop will also feature an opening talk by Marivel Danielson, an Associate Professor at ASU’s School of Transborder Studies.Â
Registration for either session is $12 in advance.
Performing Our Stories: Theatre as a Tool of Community Organizing
Workshop with Anu Yadav, with opening talk by Marivel Danielson
Presented in partnership with ASU Performance in the Borderlands
Wednesday, November 4, 6:00pm – 9:00pm
South Mountain Community College, Black Box Theatre
7050 S 24th St
Phoenix, AZ 85042
Cost: $12
Register for this workshop
