‘There is incredible power in the arts to inspire and influence’.

Julie Taymor

An introduction to community arts by Jeni Lewitt BA Hons Fine Art

http://imgarcade.com/1/political-street-art/

What is community art?

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Face-painting is always a popular activity at community events. Temporary body-art that is an easy introduction

to art in the community.Not sure how to find one in your area?

Contact the local nursery, primary school or library- they often know the best face-painters to book for a

local event.

Or you could be brave and buy face-paints and somesmall, free-standing safety mirrors.

Supervise the children as they create their own master-piece.

http://facepaintingideas.org/simple-clown-face-painting-designs-that-you-can-do-in-10-minutes/clown-face-painting-design-01/http://paintingtips.us/page/18/

http://inspireinfo.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/45-face-painting-pictures.html#!/2012/03/45-face-painting-pictures.html

Taking art in the community to another level. Adults quite enjoy face-painting and themed events that allow them to get creative and have fun!

These events can also raise money for the community or other good causes. Think fun-runs, carnivals, festivals, fetes, music

nights and other community celebrations, events or ‘actions’.

Growing in popularity is the ‘Zombie Run’ or’ Zombie walk’

http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/pictures/Eastside-Carnival-2011/pictures-12964534-detail/pictures.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-15474550

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obstacle-races/

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/04/08/marathon-man-these-colours-run-5k/

Holi is a spring festival also known as the Festival of Colours or the Festival of Love.It is an ancient Hindu religious festival which has become popular with non-Hindus in many parts of the world. The festival has, in recent times, spread to parts of Europe and North America as a spring celebration of love, frolic, and colours. In the UK many smaller communities are organising ‘Rainbow Runs’ or ‘Colour Runs’ as fun[d] raising events.

‘The Colour Run’ UK is a 5k run-jog-walk event that raises funds for the NSPCC. Known as the ‘Happiest 5k on the Planet’, it’s a unique colour race that celebrates healthiness, happiness, individuality, and giving back to the community. Participants are doused from head to toe in different colours at each kilometre. The fun continues at the finish line with a gigantic “Colour Festival,” using more coloured powder to create happiness and lasting memories, not to mention millions of vivid colour combinations. The colour is a mix of corn flour and powder paint and mixed in empty washing-up liquid bottles. This dry mix can then be sprayed on to participants.

http://www.thecolorrun.co.uk/About-Us

http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/03/holi-2014-the-festival-of-colors/100699/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/hampshire/content/image_galleries/scarecrows_gallery.shtml

http://www.hello-yorkshire.co.uk/blog/event/kettlewell-scarecrow-festival

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Temporary community art installations. Whether you live in an urban city or a rural village, Scarecrow Festivals are a great

way to get the residents to share materials and skills.It’s a fun way to make ‘something old’ into ‘something new’.

Anyone can take part and the whole community can enjoy the displays,which often remain in place for a week. Residents and non-residents

alike enjoy this type of low-cost artistic experience.

To get started…begin with the residents that you already know. Share the idea over a cuppa and see what response you get. It only needs a few to do the first one. Once interest begins to grow, talk to a local councillor to get advice and support.

Well-known UK Scarecrow Festivals: http://www.kettlewellscarecrowfestival.co.uk/history.phphttps://www.facebook.com/HeatherScarecrowFestival

Temporary art installations that are fairly easy to do and can be [fairly ] low-cost fun.Save money by un-ravelling old woolly jumpers;use social media asking for any un-wanted wool, old woollies,knitting needles and crochet hooks.Learn to knit, it is easier and more relaxing than you think. Start a ‘Knit and Natter’ group and the resident knitters who enjoy sharing their skills will appear….Make pompoms! There are now handy gadgets to speed up the process, and there’s no end of places to hang them on the streets.

http://www.styleitlikeyoustoleit.com/site/the-new-way-to-make-

pompoms-diy-tutorials-inspiration-yarn-pompoms/http://kimschoenbergerceramicartist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/yarn-bombing-more.html

Yarn-bombing is another art-form that can be described asa temporary art installation. A fun way of adding bright coloursto the area, turning ‘uglier’ areas into a public gallery of textile arts.It can also be used as a form of artistic protest by highlighting ugly street furniture and other forms of ‘urban greyness’……

Yarn-bombers usually operate ‘under the radar’ and only come out at night-time to decorate their chosen space. Others will work with the support of the local council, businesses and residents.There is no ‘right or wrong’ as long as you keep safe, stay within the law and ‘do no harm’.

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juliana santacruz harrrerapot hole interventions

http://www.streetartutopia.com/?attachment_id=11294Amsterdam

http://www.odditycentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Scala-Infiorata-Caltaragione2.jpg Scicily

Semi-permanent transformations using the art of mosaics. Another art-form that is fairly low-cost, and can be created with ‘up-cycling’-using broken crockery and other found materials. This is a popular hobby so a resident may already have the skills to share. If you are planning something beyond your own‘door-step’ then permission and/or support from the local council, private owners and the local residents could be essential.

http://www.mosaic-madness.co.uk/school_projects/index.htm

Re-claiming the streets using a variety of artistic methods is not new, humans have been using their environment as a canvas since the cave-dwellers.There are no barriers to participation, it is an enjoyable and social activity. Participants can show-case [and share] their skills and talentswhile others can learn new skills that may lead to further creativeopportunities. Art is FUN!

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A Kassena village in Burkina Faso Source unknown http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/taichungs-rainbow-village

-the-hand-painted-wonder-of-taiwan.html

“Locals had reacted strongly after municipality workers painted grey the famous “rainbow” steps, which had been originally colored by a retired local “to put a smile on people’s faces.” “Take your brush and come,” became a call on social media websites, while thousands used the #resiststeps hashtag on Twitter and Facebook, becoming Twitter’s most trending topic.” - The Lede Turkey.

Mr. Cetinel pointed out that all of nature — “cats, birds, flowers, mountains” — is brightly colored. “Where does this grey come from?” he asked. “Did we have another Pompeii and got flooded with ash?” Daily News Turkey

As a result, hundreds of residents turned out and painted every set of concrete steps in the village!

Murals, Graffiti, Graff-art, Street-art, Urban-art, Spray-art, Wall-art. A global art-action with many different names. Another type of ‘artistic interruption’ which is becoming more common in rural communities as well as in the cities. Illegal ‘taggers’ use the urban environment as their ‘canvas’, a very public reaction to urban decay and a ‘grey’ environment. Many of these artists progressed from tagging to the production of more ambitious images and/or text .

http://imgarcade.com/1/political-street-art/ http://imgarcade.com/1/social-street-art/

Artists then followed their lead, making the street their canvas and beyond commercial value. This was ‘art for arts sake’. The ‘streets’ became the public art galleries , where art could be enjoyed by all.The most famous UK graff-artist is ‘Banksy’ who has attracted huge commercial interest, and we now have traditional art galleries specialising in selling ‘street art’.

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/09/380547.htmlhttps://www.google.co.uk/search?q=street+art+global&biw

Street art doesn’t have to be permanent, chalks are a great way to encourage children into designing and making temporary art.Some artists create works on large sheets of paper using water-based paints, they then paste the art-work on to a wall. The rain gradually degrades the mural and it is eventually washed away.Reverse-graffiti is a growing trend, where a design is drawn on to a dirty surface and then ‘cleaned’. The cleaned area of wall creates the residual image.

http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/2010/10/reverse-graffiti-environmentally

-friendly-urban-spray-art/

The image to the left shows ‘reverse-graffiti’. The picture is created by removing the dirt from the surface of a wall revealing theart-work. It’s a popular method as peoplecannot be arrested for ‘cleaning a wall’.The effects can be stunning.

Up-cycle, and re-cycle all kinds of items into planters to decorate and animate your local area. Teapots, handbags, welly boots and old paint tins can add colour to your streets.

http://theviolethours.typepad.com/blog/2011/04/time-for-teapot-planters.html

http://thekavicliving.weebly.com/diy/diy-creative-planters-for-your-garden

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Flash-mob pillow fight!A live performance..whetherit’s dancing, singing or fightingwith light sabres…flash-mobs are fun and easy to do.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/photo/2011-03/06/c_13763467.htm

Flash-mobs are another form of artistic ‘interruptions’ in a public space. They are often spontaneous, relying on social media to mobilise participants and are very popular with young people.A flash-mob is a short ‘performance’ or ‘activity’, and is usually less than 5 minutes in duration. A flash-mob event can also be organised, planned and rehearsed in advance.Flash-mobs often include dancing, singing and musical performances as well as the more ‘mad-cap’ ideas such as a mass pillow fight! Advertisers have caught on to this phenomenon and some of the best flash-mob films on the internet have been complex, and expensive, productions. This links to a flash mob commercial made in Belgium:http://www.wimp.com/bestflashmob/

Flash-mobs can also be used as a passive form of protest. The link below is to a flash mob of Walmart employees

demanding better pay and conditions:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuCNH7dqZxg

Flash-mobs can also be used as a way to celebrate a person or an event in the local community. This link is to a flash-mob event in the Netherlands, created by an artist and local residents. It is celebrating a resident knitter who has knitted over 500 jumpers that had never been worn:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pul1Ja8gWBg

Generally, flash-mobs are ‘fun to do and fun to view’. They can be fairly easy to organise and can be a low cost way of animating your shopping centre, estate or local park . They are also useful in promoting what you are doing in the community. If you are planning a flash-mob, location is key as permission may be needed, if in doubt check with your local council first.

Street décor for special events can be dramatic, playful and fun to create. Bunting-making sessions

are great for all ages and no special skills are required. Paper chains can also be made from old

magazines and leaflets.

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http://teatimeeventproduction.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/crafternoon-paper-chains.html

EARTH WITHOUT ART IS JUST ‘EH’

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https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=STREET+ART+INTERVENTIONS

Created by Jeni Lewitt BA Hons Fine Art

http://awesomenator.com/creative/creative-colorful-installations-as-street-art/