“Civic Dialogue” offers
discussion opportunities; shrine-making workshop follows on
June 7
Boise’s newest public art
project begins Friday, June 6. It blends artists and issues in
a way not seen before in Boise.
“Portals/Portales,” an
installation opening at the Boise State University Hemingway
Gallery on June 6, involves viewers in exploring deep
experiences or emotions they all have in common, hidden
beneath their surface differences.
Created by artists Jeanette
Ross and Chris Binion, the installation literally opens
doorways — “portales” in Spanish — to the universal
experience of leaving someplace familiar and settling
somewhere unknown. Focusing on Mexican American migration,
past and present, the artists weave stories, artifacts and a
degree of mystery into two rooms. Passing through the portals,
people are asked to revisit their own memories and emotions,
then leave words behind to inspire the “migrants” who
follow in their footsteps.
“As Idaho becomes a
destination for those seeking a better life, from Mexico,
Central America and elsewhere, the opportunity for
misunderstandings increases,” says narrative-gatherer
Jeanette Ross. “This project, under the optimistic title of
Building Community Bridges, attempts to increase mutual
understanding between long-time residents and more recent
ones.”
By its very nature, art has the
power to elicit strong emotional reactions.
“The Building Community
Bridges project recognizes that artistic expression is
often a response to social and community conditions,” Boise
City Arts Commission executive director Julie Numbers-Smith
says. “The great majority of Treasure Valley residents weren’t
born here. This piece of artwork, ‘Portals/Portales,’
relates directly to the notion of ‘cultural bargaining.’
It’s something we all face when choosing a place to
live. We explore the questions ‘What will I leave behind in
order to be a part of this community?’ and ‘What will I
bring with me that will become part of my new community?’
This installation uses the Latino/Hispanic experience as a ‘portal’
into our own personal expressions of cultural bargaining.”
An audience’s
experience of the art itself can be enriched through exploring
civic issues.
To enhance the interface
between the art and the community, Marcellus Brown, Dallas
Gudgell, Ana Maria Schachtell, Les Bock and Diane Ronayne were
invited to join the project as the community team. Schachtell,
who helped found the Hispanic Cultural Center of Idaho,
proposed the Mexican American theme and assisted the artists
in finding authentic sources and materials. Gudgell, a Native
American Life Coach, is a civic dialogue workshop facilitator.
Brown, chair of the Boise City Arts Commission, has convened
the project meetings. Bock, the executive director of the Anne
Frank Idaho Human Rights Education Center, helped formulate
the civic dialogue structure. Ronayne, a former Boise City
Arts Commission member, Idaho Statesman columnist and public
relations consultant, publicized the project.
Following the opening night
reception for the artists at 5:30 p.m. on June 6, the audience
will discuss the work and their reaction to it during a
facilitated civic dialogue session from 6:30-8 p.m. at the
Hemingway Gallery.
In conjunction with the opening
of “Portals/Portales,” families can partake in a cultural
art experience: a shrine-making workshop. Mexican tradition
and the installation’s shrine area are inspirations for an
afternoon of shrine making from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. June 7 at the
Hemingway Gallery. People of all ages are invited to create a
collage display that celebrates a favorite person or memory.
Materials and guidance will be provided.
“Many of us are familiar with
this art form already, although we may not call them
shrines," observes Jeanette Ross, one of the two artists
collaborating on “Portals/Portales.” “We have family
photographs on a desk, a box of stones and seashells under the
bed, a shoebox of letters and souvenirs we can't give up, or a
shelf of grandmother's best glasses.”
“The
artistic imagination, stimulated by contemporary issues and
deployed by artists and arts institutions, is an extraordinary
civic force and one whose potential remains significantly
under acknowledged.” — Christine J. Vincent, Ford
Foundation
Building Community Bridges is
modeled after the Animating Democracy Initiative, a national
program coordinated by Americans for the Arts. Its premises
are that a democracy is animated by an informed public engaged
in the issues affecting people’s daily lives, and that the
arts can play a significant role in engaging people in those
issues. Building Community Bridges is sponsored by the Boise
City Arts Commission and funded through Idaho Commission on
the Arts with support from Americans for the Arts and the Ford
Foundation.
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Contact
Julie Numbers-Smith
Boise City Arts Commission
208 336-4936
jnumberssmith@cityofboise.org
Media Contact
Kathleen Craven
News Service
208 426-3275
kcraven@boisestate.edu
