Updates from the PAR-Projects blog...

What is placemaking?   How does placemaking relate to the mission of PAR-Projects?   As Ann Markusen and Anne Gadwa define it in their paper for the National Endowment for the Arts,  "placemaking engages partners from public, private, non-profit, and community sectors to strategically shape the physical and social character of a neighborhood, town, city, or region around arts and cultural activities." Creative placemaking animates public and private spaces, rejuvenates structures and streetscapes, improves local business viability and public safety, and brings diverse people together to celebrate, inspire, and be inspired. In turn, these creative locales foster entrepreneurs and cultural industries that generate jobs and income, spin off new products and services, and attract and retain unrelated businesses and skilled workers. Together, creative placemaking’s livability and economic development outcomes have the potential to radically change the future of ...

The Weather Project by Olafur Eliasson LINK here for a quick look . The Nook at PAR-Projects is an installation art gallery. But what does this mean? Installation art is a medium within the field of visual art that relies on the concept of site-specificity. Essentially, each creation is designed to transform the perception of the space.  For perspective, other mediums that also rely on the concept of site-specificity including  public art, land art and intervention art.  While the boundaries of all these overlap, installation art is usually applied to indoor spaces. Site-specific installations can incorporate a range of new and old media to transform an interior space.  Often sculpture is used within installations.  And with the advent of new technologies like video, sound, virtual reality, etc., artists have more resources than ever before to transform spaces for an interactive art experience.  As Wikipedia defines it , "Installation...