Short Summary
The Shalom
Community Center (Bloomington's only daytime resource center for people experiencing extreme poverty), working with community artist Joe LaMantia, hopes to bring both beauty and compassion to Bloomington through a unique public art project to be installed in front of our Center's downtown location on South Walnut Street.
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The
public
art project is driven by the theme of “More than Homeless” and inspired by the countless women, men, and children without homes who experience horrible prejudice and even hatred because of their situation.
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Crystal Banks, a formerly homeless mother, described her experience of homelessness when she said,
"One
of the hardest things about being homeless was that I was so afraid to tell anybody that I was homeless.
You get
looked down upon, because people don’t even stop to try and hear your story and
understand why you’re homeless. You’re just automatically
put in that box of, ‘You’re homeless. You’re a bad person. You
obviously did something wrong.’ And
that’s not the case... This has
been one of the most humbling experiences that I’ve ever had.”
Motivated by the experiences of the homeless and countless examples of public art, which help people see homelessness differently, we, at Shalom, felt Bloomington needed its own public message of compassion, inscribed in community art.
That inspiration led us to the perfect person to move this idea forward,
community artist, Joe LaMantia. With 20
years of experience as a collaborative community artist, Joe has completed over
40 similar projects all over Indiana and the Midwest (
www.lamantiastudio.com).
Through Joe's unique team-building process, guests of Shalom, students and staff from local schools, and members of
the general public will all be involved in the design, creation, and construction of this unique art spectacle, which, when completed, will be available for all to learn from and enjoy.
What We Need & What You Get
The overall
cost of this public art project is about $14,000. Through the generous
funding of the Bloomington Arts Commission, the Bloomington Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission, and the Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association, we have already raised over $4,000 to get us started.
Our crowd-funding goal is $10,000, which will cover the remaining costs associated with the creation, installation, and fundraising of the project, including the costs for the artist and the materials needed to complete the project.
When the project is complete, Bloomington will have a public art piece of both beauty and compassion. It will serve as a symbol and a reminder to our community to live with open hearts to the marginalized and downtrodden in our community.
We know that many of you prefer to give simply from the kindness of your own hearts, but
we also have some gifts for you to say THANK YOU for your support. Our favorite is having your name permanently inscribed on the sculpture to acknowledge your generosity to making this work of beauty real. Check out all the other THANK YOUs to see what best fits you and your desire and ability to help.
100% of the funding we raise over the final costs of the art piece will be dedicated to the work of Shalom Community Center to help aid and empower people experiencing hunger, homelessness, and poverty.
The Impact - Details on the Art Piece
Until you've witnessed it, it's hard to explain the level of prejudice and even hatred directed at people experiencing homelessness. We believe this community art piece will play a significant role in helping our community open up in understanding and compassion.
We have already
conducted Brainstorming sessions where ideas, thoughts and drawings, related
to the project, were collected from the community. The Design Phase
incorporated ideas generated by these sessions into the project design with a
strong focus on recyclable, reused materials which are the media of choice of
Project Artist Joe LaMantia. A Review
Committee was formed to
oversee and provide feedback on the project at all stages as it moves towards
completion.
The Heart Shelter is the main element of
the project. It will be placed in front of the Shalom Community Center at 620
S. Walnut Street. It will be constructed almost completely of donated recycled
materials (galvanized street posts and signs, car license plates, tiles and
mirrors).
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A
Mural
will be displayed on the windows that stretch across the entire front of the
Shalom Center, just behind the Heart Shelter. This mural will be a black
silhouette of people who are guests of Shalom. A statement “Like you, I have a
story worth sharing”, will appear above the silhouette.
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A Wild Life Sanctuary, composed of native
plants found in Indiana, will be planted around the Heart Shelter. Also included
will be painted birdhouses, a mason bee house, a butterfly house, and a
birdbath.
The project is now in the Fabrication phase. The primary structure and the heart
are being constructed. Mirror pieces are being attached to the heart by students
at Stone Belt. Students at
Hoosier Hills Career Center are creating other parts of the framework,
including the weather vane that will sit atop the sculpture.
In the
summer, Shalom guests, students, and the general public will be
invited to get involved in building and assembling the rest of the sculpture.
The installation phase will begin with the pouring
of footers in the space in front of the Shalom Center. The sculpture will then
be moved over to the site by truck and installed by the use of a crane, in the fall
of 2015.
Risks & Challenges
In moving this project forward, we've overcome many challenges already, including finding the right artist, getting the appropriate permissions from the City, designing the art project, and obtaining some initial funding for the work.
Our next biggest challenge is raising the additional funding to make this work. That's where YOU come in. With YOUR support, we will take this beautiful dream and make it into a real work of art!!
Other Ways You Can Help
We know that not all of you can help out financially as much as you'd like, but you can still help!!
Please get the word out. Share this with your friends. Get excited!! Make some noise!!
Also, check the updates section for opportunities to volunteer.