A huge thankyou to everyone who made this possible, really appreciate being given a voice….and those shots in the Mill!!
Tag: social art project
MAPEA 2023:InRealLife
This year the MAPEA IRL project in Vicksburg is a change to the way we had been working, which up till now had consisted of looking at our neighborhoods and painting a map of where we live. Still collaborating with Kalamazoo Parks and Recreation Summer Camps, we proposed bringing the workshops to the Mill to explore this big old building with some art in interesting places and a studio space in the basement for the kids to work in. As an experiment in urban renovation and meantime residency for artists, it seemed like too good an opportunity to miss sharing with local kids and youth in our conversation about the environment. But keen as I was to share my passion for old industrial buildings and recycling, you never know if it will be a shared one, especially with such mixed groups of young participants.
Continue reading “MAPEA 2023:InRealLife”This year the MAPEA IRL project in Vicksburg is a change to the way we had been working, which up till now had consisted of looking at our neighborhoods and painting a map of where we live. Still collaborating with Kalamazoo Parks and Recreation Summer Camps, we proposed bringing the workshops to the Mill to explore this big old building with some art in interesting places and a studio space in the basement for the kids to work in. As an experiment in urban renovation and meantime residency for artists, it seemed like too good an opportunity to miss sharing with local kids and youth in our conversation about the environment. But keen as I was to share my passion for old industrial buildings and recycling, you never know if it will be a shared one, especially with such mixed groups of young participants.
Continue reading “MAPEA 2023:InRealLife”MAPEA 2020: Navigating the pandemic
Relocated to Kalamazoo, Michigan since 2016, last year I finally found the collaborators and organisations to work with on a new MAPEA mapping project. Getting to know a community always takes time.
I had just begun to organise a series of workshops for the summer camps held by the Parks and Recreation Department of the City Council when the pandemic hit.
Simultaneously we had been organising another event which had to be postponed straight away (with an exhibition hung and ready to inaugurate) but throughout the year we insisted on looking for ways to continue with our projects.
The MAPEA workshops in particular suddenly seemed all the more urgent exactly because they entail outdoor activities for children who were now forced to stay indoors.
But it did necessitate some adaptation and a lot of uncertainty up until the last minute, so the first expeditions were to take a very long hard look at spaces available and how we could use them, as well as being a great excuse to go out for a bike ride, which became a pandemic favourite for many. The first and nearest site to where I lived was the Upjohn Park, neighbouring Food innovation Center and Parks and Rec Youth Development Center.
Continue reading “MAPEA 2020: Navigating the pandemic”
Natalya Critchley 