CHERNOW, REBECCA-2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I view my role as a facilitator of creativity, and welcome the focal shift from solely my own ideas to those of others who wish to beautify their world for the collective benefit. Together with the residents at Sullivan Manor --many of whom have arrived in California from vastly different sections of the world --we have built communal gardens for vegetables, herbs, and native flowers, as well as a centrally -located large-scale outdoor mosaic inspired by the southern Californian landscape using only recycled glass. I am no longer interested in the concept of art that exists only to represent a utopian vision or inspire political action; I want to know if art can actually be those things. Narrative for proposed use of funds:: In February 2016 1 relocated to Southern California after living in Seattle for many years, and had to rebuild my community from scratch. Since my arrival, I have been getting to know people from many pockets of Santa Ana through my new home at Grand Central Art Center and my work as an artist -in -residence at an affordable housing property comprised of diverse families from Afghanistan, Vietnam, Mexico, and Pakistan. At GCAC, I have become part of the vibrant artist and student community. I've been a returning visiting artist at Cal State Fullerton, and have worked with students and professors from the school. These seemingly disparate connections have organically grown, expanded, and overlapped. Through the currencies of shared space, food, time, and art, I have become woven into a complex network of the most diverse group of people that I have ever been around in my life, all in one city. In gratitude for the overwhelming hospitality that I have been shown, as well as in response to the current national political climate that aims to monger fear and divisiveness, I would like to make a collaborative portrait of Santa Ana in the form of functional art and a public potluck. Using the canvas of a plain dinner plate, I will create a visual art exhibition that will reveal deeply personal narratives and universal commonalities from many individuals who share the same zip code, but might not otherwise ever meet one another due to cultural or geographic divisions. All participants will be asked to use a permanent marker to visually divide the surface of a standard white ceramic plate into sections, like designing the placement of a meal. I will ask each person to describe what they contemplate for themselves --or what is "on their plate" --even if their goals conflict with one another, or are unrealistic, in their choice of language and style. I will provide the writing utensil, the plate, and a written prompt for the project. Though there will be standardized guidelines (the plain plate and the description of the project) each person will inevitably bring their own interpretation to the visualization of their personal narrative, and what is written on the plate will undoubtedly greatly vary between individuals. When the plate is returned to me, I will trace each drawing in a food -safe enamel and fire the words onto the surface in a kiln to make it permanent. I will exhibit the plates in a central public space where the collection can be viewed in its