Art of Recovery Initiative, City of Santa Monica

Art of Recovery Initiative

City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs

ABOUT Art of Recovery

As part of the City of Santa Monica’s Economic Recovery Task Force, the Art of Recovery grant program harnesses the arts to play a major role in recovery efforts while highlighting Santa Monica as a place of culture and unique experiences. Inspired by the WPA-era’s Federal Art Project, this initiative puts artists to work to implement projects that focus on four main priorities: Economic Recovery; Racial Justice & Cultural Equity; Wellbeing & Public Health; and Community Connectedness.

Role and responsibility

As the appointed Art of Recovery documentarian by the City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division, my tasks are to provide media capture services through photo and video for Art of Recovery grantees. In most cases, I record the installation process as well as the artist’s activation, creating a narrative arch for the artists creative mission, process, and practice.

GranteeArt Production Fund

ProjectNow Playing Installations

EventFrieze, Los Angeles

DescriptionOn view outside Frieze Los Angeles at Santa Monica Airport, Art Production Fund’s ‘Now Playing’ brings together a series of artworks that shine a light on the often-overlooked elements of everyday life in Los Angeles; the vehicles, food, sports, aircraft, construction and deeper histories that blend into the background.

GranteeMcCabe's Guitar Shop

EventAmericana in the Park Summer Series

DescriptionAmericana in the Park is a summer series organized by McCabe's Guitar Shop that celebrates the history of American music through gathering, food, activities, and live performance.

Grantee18th Street Arts Center / Sea Change Lab

CuratorMarcus Kuiland-Nazario

Artist Melinda Smith Altshuler performing Dead Friends Directory and the Butterfly Tower

DescriptionThe Sea Change Lab is a mobile performance space that allows artists to perform while practicing social distancing. This performance is an evolving sculpture and settings reflecting on dear lost souls in the art world who have affected Altshuler's thoughts and art practice.

GranteeYeu "Q" Nguyen

ProjectHope Flags with Yeu Q

DescriptionThis artwork is the result of over 2 years of collaborative efforts of over 200 community members of Santa Monica who participated in the flag-making workshops. Participants respond to prompt questions: “What is hope? What do you hope for? What gives you hope?” in textual as well as visual forms. Taking inspiration from the tradition of Tibetan pray flags, these flags are meant to be on displayed until they are faded. The fading of the flags means that the hopes and wishes have been picked up by the wind and fill the surrounding space with their intentions.

GranteeHere.LA

ProjectPalisades Park Installation and Activation

DescriptionThis installation by Here.LA is a temporary large-scale art installation mounted atop the park’s edge, between Broadway and Colorado Avenue, features transparent wire letters that spell out the phrase, “WE ARE A DROP WE ARE THE OCEAN”. The phrase calls you to a moment of reflection and provides great photo opportunities.