Drawing Lines: 10-one visualizations

[Leslie Pool]

Related to the new pieces in the City Hall Art Gallery, I would like to shine light on the very cool effort spearheaded by my friend Lynn Osgood and which takes 10-one to a new, artistic level: Drawing Lines, an art concept funded through a grant with ArtPlace America. The Drawing Lines project is an artist-driven, community-based, independent public art project commissioned in response to the historic political transformation in Austin, TX, and funded by ArtPlace America.

The work done by the Drawing Line project artists aims to co-create a temporary art work about the newly formed district with district residents. Each artist will decide the direction of the piece that the artist will create through their own creative process and through their own process of having conversations with district residents, each council member, and others who are familiar with the issues residents face and the community assets that help to define each district. Our support is requested in helping the artists to understand what the issues are in our districts, and in helping to make any connections or introductions to others who may be able to help the artist with their work.

Drawing Lines artists will be working on their projects throughout the spring and summer of this year. In the fall of 2015 the different temporary artworks will be displayed within each of the different districts and begin the planning for a larger cumulative exhibit.

Teruko Nimura is the artist working in my district. She hopes that her work will galvanize the diverse communities in D7 and is grateful for the opportunity to show some of her work at City Hall. Teruko and I are talking about her having a small installation in my office to show her art to the broad range of folks who regularly visit our suites on City business.

A bit about Teruko Numura: she's a visual artist with a diverse practice including drawing, painting, clay, mixed media sculpture, Installation, social practice and performance. She is interested in the ways that collective memory, perception, and identity are formed through shared events, ritual, and ceremony. Teruko received her BFA from San Francisco Art Institute and her MFA from The University of Texas Austin. She has also been a fellow at OxBow School of Art and included in New American Talent with Juror Nato Thompson.
http://www.terukonimura.net/

Look for a formal public announcement and press release about the project in late March after the artists have had a chance to orient to their districts and after SXSW. I encourage all my colleagues to connect with the artist dedicated to your specific district to help acquaint them and watch the magic they create!