Hello Friends! Well, the mural is still standing proud. I can't help myself but visit it daily, and I don't think I am alone. Kirkland Ave is undoubtedly getting more foot traffic and attention than it has in a while.

Check out my recent radio interview with (the infamous) Bill Dwight here.

On a nice fall day last week, Vanessa, Katherine, and I sealed the mural, but the sealer was a little too thick in some places, resulting in "partly cloudy" conditions. We plan on fixing this next week. If you want to give us a hand, drop me a line!

Here are some more photos from the unveiling & celebration...

I love the way light animates the mural at night...

Eric Hnatow playing/dancing/blowing minds (and cables)...

Eben and myself :-)

(many thanks to Vanessa Vargas for the photos and for all her lovely help during this project!)

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Well folks, the mural is complete.

It's hard to believe that after months of preparation, it took only 3 weeks to paint. And what a gorgeous job everyone has done! I hear echoes of pride and appreciation wherever I go. I've heard gasps of surprise and excitement as people pass and see it for the first time. I am very pleased with how this project has progressed, and am totally thankful for everyone who made this dream a reality. This mural is proof that beautiful things can happen when people work together. It is a testament to the power of community and imagination. It shows us that we can be surprised, challenged, and delighted by our surroundings. It proves that art can transform not only our physical community, but our social one as well. This mural has generated friendships, happiness, discussions, stories, pride, a sense of accomplishment, and new ideas.

The unveiling & celebration last week was great, and a heartfelt thanks goes out to everyone who made it happen and made it so damn fun!
(More pictures to come from the celebration!)

Here are some reactions & responses to the mural and project generated at the celebration from activities there:
-I like the mural because it looks like it's having a pretty good time up there, and also like a mountain.
-It reminds me how AMAZING color is.
-Like Beast.
-Inspired by the birdish monster thing that rules

-I walked in Kirkland Ave once and my feet turned into two pegasuses and flew off, dropping me into a giant plate of spaghetti.
-...Anyway, I finally walked on Kirkland this rainy, chilly evening of Oct 9 2009. I might have been a different person if I had known about Kirkland before...but I won't dwell on that fact. I'm with a new friend, on a new avenue...Kirkland will be in my thoughts.
-I would love to see an outdoor cafe there and lovely landscaping along the spiral staircase that dwells there now.
-Hey, so this may sound strange but I am deeply in love with your paint. I need to take it out to dinner. With of course your bequest. My intentions I assure you are honorable, you need not worry about the sanctity if your dear one. So I will call upon you at a reasonable hour forthwith and ask you with humility for your paints hand in this unholy union, Lord of Kent.

Here are some ideas for a title for the mural (in list form):
* you have hair like starlights * Hope For Piss Alley * Quintupiance * A Prize of Peace from the Moon * Alley Cascade * "you know how I know you are gay?" * Journey to Love * Buncha Crazy Crap on a Wall * Take me to your dealer! * Monster Truck * Fingers and Toes * Party Time, Excellent * A Human Mind * Saturn Returns * Hatin-Multidimensional * Blaine Comes for a Visit * Spaghetti Sunrise * Cookieface * A Smile Costs Nothing * Yooooo Brooooo !!!! * It's Happening in the Alley! *Alley Ants * Guardianway * The Spirit of Community Wall * Hungry, Hungry Hippo * Quetzacoatl Goes To New York * The Un-nameable * A Colored Mirror * Rhizome(s): (they're horitzonaltal root structures and also a philosophical theory of non-heirarchal/non-binary systems that spread out like a community) *Lagueberde, bagedrebre, bredegredre * The Bubble * 8 year olds w/crayons drawing ninja turtles all night * you better let me read these *

We've been getting a lot of press attention. Check out the Sophian's 10/8/09 article and the Daily Hampshire Gazette's 10/9/09 article about the project! Springfield's abc40 also covered the unveiling. Keep your eyes peeled in the Advocate and the Republican this week for features about the project. :-)

Finishing touches & Celebration on Friday!

Last week a group of kids came through the alley while a bunch of us were painting. "What is it?" one of the kids asked, pointing to the mural. I asked them what they thought it could be. "An owl!" yelled one. "No, a bug!" shouted another. "It looks like the yellow submarine" one of the girls chimed in. The smallest boy boldly said, "No, I know what it is- a celebration!"


As you can see, the mural is close to finished. Only a couple more hours of work and it's complete! Cross your fingers for good weather this week...

We will be having an official unveiling & celebration this Friday, October 9th, from 6-9pm. I'm really excited to celebrate this project and all the people who made it happen! There's going to be music all evening, featuring Ed Rosser, the wheeling piano guy, from 6-8pm. Eric Hnatow, the flashy electro guy, will be playing from 8-9pm (hopefully with light up jacket in tow!). There will be cider and cookies to munch on, as well as surprise interactive spectacles (ooh la la...) to enjoy. And don't worry if you haven't gotten your Golden Brick yet, you can still purchase them Friday night for $10. You seriously should definitely probably absolutely stop by. It's going to be an awesome time. Really. This event corresponds with Northampton's monthly Arts Night Out, so make sure you check out the other great art events happening all around downtown Northampton.

Action in the Alley

Enjoy these photos from painting in action!

Next Workdays: THURSDAY, OCT 1st 10am-3pm
SATURDAY, OCT 3rd afternoon (weather permitting)

Colors & Conversations

Woo hoo! Here are some photos from painting-in-action this week. Warm thanks to all the volunteer painters who have helped so far, the folks who have bought Golden Bricks, and all of the people who have stopped to chat with us in the alley.

I love how new public art- and art in general- can open up conversation between strangers. So many people have been eager to engage with us about this piece, this project, and public space in general. This project seems to illustrate how important art can be for bringing people together.

Another one of my favorite things about this piece is it's abstract design. Many people will ask "what is it?" and instead of giving them an answer, I like to ask "what do you see?" This opens up the door to a thousand possibilities of what this mural is, what it represents, or what thoughts, feelings, or associations it provokes in others. Talking about and sharing these ideas with each other is an important way to build community and bridge imaginations.

We will be painting this Saturday, September 26th, from noon-ish on. Stop by and check it out!

It's happening!

After some considerable delay due to, among other things, negotiating with Alan Scheinman, the mural is finally coming into fruition! Last Tuesday Brian and Mike, who work for the neighboring parking garage, power washed the wall to prep it for paint. It was a magical sight early in the morning, watching these two guys wash the wall. They worked as a team inside the power washer's mist, washing and scrubbing to the tune of the humming machine, with the early morning light touching down on Kirkland Ave. It was satisfying washing the layers of dust, dirt, and decay dribble off the walls, uncovering the bright red bricks.

Yesterday we made our first mural marks on the walls with primer. This too felt like a great moment, as the mural has essentially been in the making since January. Priming went pretty quickly since we had some friends to stop by lend a hand. People walking by naturally noticed the shift from dingy red walls to bright white ones, and were curious what we were doing. Many people expressed their excitement over seeing a new mural being made, and we even recruited some volunteer painters to help us.

Obviously, the more people we can get to help us paint, the faster it will get done. Since it is already halfway through September, the days are getting shorter, the weather is getting cooler, and it is important we get the mural done in a timely fashion. Please lend us a hand! We will be working in the alley this Tuesday, Sept 22nd late afternoon-evening, next Saturday, Sept 26th in the afternoon, and every Saturday after that until it's finished. We are also planning on painting during the week whenever people are around to help, so if you'd like to be on the Volunteer Mural Painter e-mail list, let me know and I'll sign you up! haley@commonweathcenter.org. Again, no experience is necessary, we are basically doing the mural in a paint-by-numbers fashion.

Another quick reminder, Golden Bricks are available for purchase for $10 a pop. Money raised will go towards the project, and you'll get your name or words of your choosing painted on a golden brick in the mural. To donate, email me, stop by the alley, or stop by the breezeway behind the Guild to pick up a donation slip. Every little bit helps! Give in the name of art, community, a friend, child, parent, or a dream!

The time has come!

Starting this weekend (!!), construction on a new mural in Kirkland Ave will take place! A large, colorful, sweeping mural will adorn the Downtown Sounds wall. This public art piece is sure to brighten up Kirkland Ave, as well as breathe new life into Northampton's public art scene.

Ebenezer (Eben) Kling, a recent Northampton transplant from the outskirts of Boston, is the mural artist. Eben, in collaboration with Haley Morgan and Julia Handschuh from C3, and Joe and Barbara Blumenthal, who own Downtown Sounds, have designed a unique, site-specific mural that captures the seen and unseen, the imagined and the visible, and the past, present, and future. To get an idea of what the piece will look like, here is some of Eben's previous work. In order to see the real thing, however, you'll have to take a walk through Kirkland Ave yourself!

We anticipate completing the mural mid-October, and will celebrate it's official unveiling with a party. More details on this happening coming soon.

You can be a part of this awesome project! We need help painting! We will be holding community painting parties (woo-hoo!) where you can drop in and lend a hand. No experience necessary! A list of painting party dates are as follows. Check back often for additional dates and times! Or sign up with Groundcrew for text-message reminders! Or shoot us an email and we'll keep you in the loop: haley@commonwealthcenter.org.

Tuesday, Sept 22nd evening
Saturday, Sept 26th noon-evening
Saturday, October 3rd noon-evening

We will continue selling Golden Bricks for $10 a piece to raise money to cover costs, upkeep, and a stipend for Eben! Help support this awesome project and donate today! Or tomorrow! Or both! A gift of $10 or more comes with a bonus: Your name or words of your choosing will be embedded into golden bricks that will be painted beneath the mural. YES!

*Check out Eben Kling's other current collaborative Northampton art project, Papergirl. So cool.

Golden Bricks!

Sponsor a Golden Brick to help support the creation of new public art in Kirkland Ave!

Golden Bricks are $10 each, and will be represented by a real golden brick painted in the alley, underlining the new work. Sponsored bricks will be painted in a long line along the bottom of the murals, connecting the walls from one side of Kirkland Ave to the other.

BONUS: You have the option of writing a message up to 20 characters on your brick, so you can sponsor one with your name written on it, the name of a loved one, your business/organization, a message, an idea, a song lyric, a haiku, etc etc!

A little sure can go a long way, and your (tax deductible!) contributions to this project will have a long lasting impact on our community. Of course, there are no limits on how many bricks you can sponsor... :-) Whether you can give $10 or $100, your gift will make a big difference in the size and quantity of murals we can produce, not to mention, how much we can pay our fabulous artists!

It's easy to contribute. You can visit the breezeway behind the Guild and pick up a slip to fill out, or you can mail check/cash/cc info to our office with a note including your full name, address, email address, how many bricks you'd like, and what you'd written on them (if anything). Our address is:

Kirkland Ave Project c/o C3
126 Main St.
Northampton MA 01060

We believe in the power of art to renew and enrich our community, and we hope you do too!

OPEN CALL FOR PUBLIC ART PROPOSALS AND PROJECT VOLUNTEERS

Submission deadline: June 1, 2009 4pm

Commonwealth Center for Change (C3) is currently seeking proposals for the creation of permanent site-specific work in Kirkland Ave. We welcome submissions that challenge the public's ideas of what art is, where it is found, and who makes it. Proposals for murals, 'street art' mediums such as graffiti, stencils, and wheat pasting, as well as new media including but not limited to video, light, and sound installations and other interventionist art that affects the way people experience Kirkland Ave, are welcome.

The work is to be completed in July 2009. A stipend will be awarded to artists upon the successful completion of their proposals.

To see the full open call listing, please click here.
To visit the open call listing on Valley Art Share, click here.

We would like as many people to participate in this project as possible! If you are interested in being involved with the project on a smaller scale, please e-mail haley@commonwealthcenter.org. We are looking for:

-production assistants : Help C3 with the general production, coordination and planning for the project. Must be in Northampton area during June and July. Hours are flexible. No pay but many benefits. Would be great for students, recent grads, or anyone interested in working closer with the Northampton arts scene.

-volunteer artists : To help paint murals, assist artists, and possibly create smaller pieces for Kirkland Ave. This position is perfect for artists of all ages, time commitments, and levels of experience. Volunteer artists are needed throughout July. Hours are flexible. No pay but many other exciting benefits.

-community supporters : This exciting public project requires support from the community! Could you make a financial contribution to the project? Do you have any materials, resources, services, or special talents to contribute? Donations to C3 and the Kirkland Ave Project are tax deductible and very much appreciated. Please email haley@commonwelathcenter.org.

The final one-hour information session and application workshop will be held at the C3 office, at 126 Main St on the 2nd floor above the A.P.E. Gallery, on May 12th, at 7pm. Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend. There will be resources for writing strong applications, scanners to digitize work, and tea.

Let your imagination run wild...Now is the time to shape the world around you!

"The Spaces Between Us and All That We Share" Reflection

[ Photos: Peter Schlessinger ]

This performance/installation/opportunity was a one-of-a-kind experience, an ephemeral happening consisting of improvisation with flashlights, hand held radios, projections, disco balls, and string. The sound of light rain and shuffling feet in the grit, mixed with static sounds emitting from radios, the sounds of people breathing, and city hum created a soft white noise in which performers and spectators shared time and space. Flashlights searched Kirkland Ave, shining into nooks and crannies seldom seen. Dancers flocked between shadow and light, the seen and unseen, the wanderers and still wondering. "You don't even know what you're doing!" shouted a passerby into his cellphone, oblivious of the ironic circumstance he named.

To be completely understand anything is to me, well, boring. That's why we play, why we want to learn, why we talk to strangers. That's why we shine light into dark places.

There is an urge to feel connected sometime, whether it be to someone else, to a certain place, or to reality. How can we bridge the spaces between? How can we see all that we share?

Once we cross those bridges and see all we share, then what?

We expand. We fragment. We disperse. We remember and we are changed.

- Haley Morgan

PLAYGROUND: a street art workshop for teens

This Thursday from 4-5:30pm there will be a workshop designed for teens called "PLAYGROUND". This workshop will involve 'locating, discussing, and creating art and our place in public space' in Kirkland Ave. We will critically and creatively look at street art in Kirkland Ave as a way to explore larger issues of private vs public space, freedom of speech and censorship, and cultural development. We will also think about how different spaces in Northampton function, and how younger community members fit into the picture. Through activities, games, creative work and casual discussion, this workshop aims to activate our streets as galleries. What can we learn if we just look around?

This workshop is led by Haley Morgan with support from Liz Bieber. Haley and Liz are both final semester college students studying community development, art, urban studies and education. They have worked with youth in Northampton, Amherst, Springfield, Holyoke, New York, Maryland, and California. They are fun, funny, and of course, responsible.

This workshop is a part of the Kirkland Ave Project, brought to you by the Commonwealth Center for Change (C3).

To participate in the workshop or learn more, please email haley@commonwealthcenter.org

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Spaces Between Us and All That We Share

The Spaces Between Us and All That We Share is a site specific performance, installation, and opportunity to take place in Kirkland Ave on April 10th, 2009 at 8pm. Playing with light, static, and string, Haley Morgan and Kelley Mariani will highlight and bridge the spaces between us and all that we share. Come gather in formation and listen to the walls talk. Watch the shadows dance. Show us what you will.

This performance is informed by a series of creative explorations that took place in Kirkland Ave over the past three months. Thank you to everyone who helped uncover, imagine, and create these moments.

There will be a Q&A following the event. In case of inclement weather, please come Saturday April 11th. The Spaces Between Us and All That We Share is a part of the Kirkland Ave Project, brought to you by Commonwealth Center for Change. This event is sponsored in part by a grant from the Northampton Arts Council.

**Open Call for Public Art!**

Submission deadline: June 1, 2009 4pm

Commonwealth Center for Change (C3) is currently seeking proposals for the creation of permanent site-specific work in Kirkland Ave. We welcome submissions that challenge the public's ideas of what art is, where it is found, and who makes it. Proposals for murals, 'street art' mediums such as graffiti, stencils, and wheat pasting, as well as new media including but not limited to video, light, and sound installations and other interventionist art that affects the way people experience Kirkland Ave, are welcome.

The work is to be completed in July 2009. A stipend will be awarded to artists upon the successful completion of their proposals.

To see the full open call listing, please click here.
To visit the open call listing on Valley Art Share, click here.

There will be two one-hour information sessions and application workshops that will be held at the C3 office, at 126 Main St on the 2nd floor above the A.P.E. Gallery, on April 13th and May 12th, at 7pm. Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend. There will be resources for writing strong applications, scanners to digitize work, and tea.

Let your imagination run wild...Now is the time to shape the world around you!

artHAPPENed

This past Friday's artHAPPENING was a success, full of creative people, activities, and as always, art. The artHAPPENING stretched from Kirkland Ave to the bottom of Thornes Marketplace, with red balloons connecting the two locations and Bob Hepner's Carnival Truck straddling the middle. Inside Thornes was a flurry of costumes, passports, maps, haikus, collaborative drawings, height charts, themed baked goods, and much, much more. Derek Goodwin took some amazing photographs, which can be found here.

Outside, Emma Silverman lurked all around Kirkland Ave in her amazing handmade costume, climbing on the walls and hiding in corners. Henry White's motion-activated sound bread-box provided a unique soundtrack to the evening, with its hums and percussion constantly changing as people walked by. Hidden throughout the alley were Clara Varadi-True's decorated eggs, which held treats. Lined up on iron gates, cement window sills, and between bricks were 300 pennies (yes, $3 worth), as a part of Haley Morgan's Sense : Value installation. A group of improvisational dancers, with a score developed by Kelley Mariani, played throughout Kirkland Ave as the sun went down. As night fell upon the alley, The Gospel Lighthouse, a video exploring an abandoned church, was projected on the walls. An old school overhead projector provided an opportunity for people to draw on the walls (without really drawing on them!).

(check out the delivery truck driver in the background)

Thanks to everyone who came by and made this event so much fun!

Art Out and artHAPPENING this Friday!

This Friday March 13th from 5-8pm storefrontART hosts its third artHAPPENING! The event will take place throughout Kirkland Ave and in the bottom of Thornes (in the old Dynamite Records location). We've got an all star line up of local artists and activities that explore ideas of space and place, such as...

a lurking performance by Emma Silverman

motion activated sound by Henry White

"sense : value" installation by Haley Morgan

treasure hunt by Clara Varadi-True

charcoal animation by Scout Cuomo

"one square mile" installation by Emma Silverman

mixed media collages by Nicholas Morra

kinetic truck sculpture by Bob Hepner

dance improvisation by Kelley Mariani

video installation by Haley Morgan

...and a team of conductors led by Aliya Bonar to help host the party!

For more information about the featured artists, please visit Valley Art Share.
The artHAPPENING is also on Facebook.

The artHAPPENING will also feature baked goods, some drinks, great company, and spunk. This event is a part of Northampton's Arts Night Out. Kids are welcome and encouraged to attend and play with us. The artHAPPENING is free and very open to the public, and all donations benefit Commonweath Center for Change. Thanks to Thornes Markeplace for helping make this happen. We hope to see you there!!


The Raven messenger bird is connected to transformations and transitions. Some believe the Raven has the power to give courage to enter into a void. The Poplar tree is commonly called the "whispering tree" for the way their leaves move in the wind. The artHAPPENING Conductors will bear the spirit of the Raven and the secrets of the Poplar on their chests this Friday, and ask visitors to enter into a new kind of art and interaction. - Aliya Bonar