communitymosaicproject

is a gathering of area artists and art lovers who will design, create, and install a 300 square foot mural on Camden Road near the Bland Street Light Rail station. Our theme is a celebration of Art in the Everyday through Variations on the Color Wheel, and it is our hope that participants and observers alike will find that these artistic expressions help them begin to see the world we live in through new eyes, with a greater appreciation of common objects and daily vistas.

Over the course of this two-year project, featured artists will work with outreach groups throughout the community to create unique tiles and borders for the mosaic. We anticipate involving 25 artists and 300 community members in worskshops offered across Charlotte. Each participant will have the opportunity to express his or her own view: What is beautiful to me, and why? What do I see every day, that I could look at differently? How does your vision of a tree affect the way I see the same tree?

So in essence, this project isn't just about making pretty pictures on a wall. It isn't even just about bringing art and community to underserved areas of Charlotte. It isn't just about the bonds and friendships we'll forge over these months. It's about teaching a broad way of "seeing," about recognizing the inherent breadth of our varied visions, embracing our stories, about admitting that beauty is rarely found in an X-Box, but might certainly reside in the caverns of a green pepper waiting to be sliced for the salad.

And just as poetically, yes, it's about bringing artists and not-yet-artists, the young and the long-lived, the well-housed and the unhoused, all together in a common effort to put more heart, quite visibly, in Charlotte.

Oh, and by the way, this project is as yet unfunded. Our gracious contributors are Art in the Dairy, Earth Fare, Habitat Restore, Charlotte Art League, and Kitty Bryant. We are very thankful to them for their hard work and support. All tile must be purchased to ensure freeze/thaw resistance. All labor, management, overhead, space, time, and talent are donated. If you'd like to help support the Community Mosaic Project, please contact us at info@communitymosaicproject.com.