Over a 3 month period I will be working with a community organization in my neighborhood called the Hollywood Sunset Free Clinic to promote the organization's mission of "Health Care is a Right and Not a Privilege." As an artist, I will create projects to help support the infrastructure of the clinic, while also promoting the notions of the "Public Option," "Universal Health Care" and on the larger scale, health care reform. The collaboration will result in an exhibition at the 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica on January 23, 2010. If you're interested in social issues and how art can be used to inspire change come check it out.
Traditionally cultural institutions have excluded ongoing dialogue about social issues outside of the art world. As a first year MFA candidate at OTIS College of Art and Design I am working on creating a "public practice" that involves working with collaborative community-based projects, such as this one. Check out my blog to follow the process of this art practice and to learn more.