Heal The Community

Swain started this project in the Tenderloin of San Francisco with a portable sewing machine and table. His aim was to give anyone who needed their clothes fixed as well as teaching them how to sew. This project was originally intended to last a day as a type of performance however the artist was astonished at how much it impacted the community so he decided it was important enough to continue and it genuinely helped people. This project is still going on currently with volunteers now leading the Generosity Project. It is wonderful how a craft that has been around for centuries has inspired all kinds of artists to produce work based on this basic necessity of life. When you create a work of art that becomes transformational for personal reasons as well impacting entire communities, this is the ultimate act of kindness we can give to the world.

This installation includes long tables cluttered with broken tableware, along with a various array of mending supplies such as scissors, tape, rubber cement, and string, all freely available for the participant to attempt to reassemble the fragments into a new whole. “Mend with wisdom mend with love. It will mend the earth at the same time,” the wall text states. To create a literal space and materials to mend fragmented objects in a domestic like setting like this I feel was a beautiful way to not only familiarize the participants with the space, but also provide multiple chairs and items for this experience to be had purposefully with others.

Chang painted the side of an abandoned building in her neighborhood “Before I die…… ________,” leaving many blank underlines to be filled out. each person who passed by could contribute to the wall by filling in the blank space with a personal answer. The project directly engages the public and facilitates discussion, connection, healing, and inspiration within each community. This installation invokes personal reflection and remembrance of how fragile and brief life is. This piece reminds us all to take a moment and appreciate being alive.

This ongoing series of posters were created as a reaction to a common catcall. Fazlalizadeh is spreading and making known the huge issue about street harassment which is a type of gender injustice women face regularly and have been for thousands of years. The pieces are displayed publicly all over different cities and feature portraits of women, along with a quote relaying their personal experiences with street harassment. By placing the posters outside in public spaces where harassment happens, the captions speak directly to offenders. By creating a platform for these women and herself, and the participants being drawn with their exact come-backs, the artist proves exactly how strong we are as individuals of society- and even more powerfully, that we are stronger in masses!