Seeding Community, 2021
In collaboration with Erie Arts and Culture’s program Creating with Community (Collaborating Artists: Fredy Huaman Mallqui, Steve Mik, Eric Brozell)
Dimesnsions: 15’ Diameter
Material: Recycled bicycle parts, and metal posts
Undoubtedly art can be a transformative force for positive change in the community. Seeding Community is a dialogue between sculpture and members of the community, with each person individually interpreting meaning and impact. It is both a visual manifestation of reclaiming a public space, inviting people to engage and interact, as well as a figurative call to action of the work of each of us in contributing to and beautifying our community.
This project was a collaborative, community-based work spearheaded by two artists, evolving into a work of three: a sculptor, a muralist and an avid bicyclist and bicycling advocate. Tasked with undertaking a community art project centered on re-envisioning the 19th Street corridor, the three artists used their unique skills and specialties to contribute to rethinking interactions between nature and urban environment. It was inspired by engaging with community, as the natural prominence of the location on East 19th and French Streets, a hill on a street corner frequently passed by pedestrians, neighbors, basketball players, and motorists.
The sculpture (Seeding Community) has been organically evolving, both conceptually and visually, over the past eight months. The creation of the artwork using locally sourced and recycled materials was very important aspect for the development of the work. Seeding Community grew from rims and other parts of donated bicycles made possible through Sisters of St. Joseph Neighborhood Network and Bike Erie, as well as repurposed signage and metal posts from the City of Erie. As the seed germinated, its ambitious size required the collaboration of additional actors, namely welders and engineers from the City who then transplanted the seed into its final home.
This project was a collaborative, community-based work spearheaded by two artists, evolving into a work of three: a sculptor, a muralist and an avid bicyclist and bicycling advocate. Tasked with undertaking a community art project centered on re-envisioning the 19th Street corridor, the three artists used their unique skills and specialties to contribute to rethinking interactions between nature and urban environment. It was inspired by engaging with community, as the natural prominence of the location on East 19th and French Streets, a hill on a street corner frequently passed by pedestrians, neighbors, basketball players, and motorists.
The sculpture (Seeding Community) has been organically evolving, both conceptually and visually, over the past eight months. The creation of the artwork using locally sourced and recycled materials was very important aspect for the development of the work. Seeding Community grew from rims and other parts of donated bicycles made possible through Sisters of St. Joseph Neighborhood Network and Bike Erie, as well as repurposed signage and metal posts from the City of Erie. As the seed germinated, its ambitious size required the collaboration of additional actors, namely welders and engineers from the City who then transplanted the seed into its final home.