my love for you.

The Trading Tortoise: Celebrating the Act of Sharing.

Artist Souther Salazar contacted me this week about a new project he and his wife, Monica have begun called The Trading Tortoise. The overall idea, they say is to "celebrate the act of sharing". Stop. That's basically all I need to know to support this project. But for those of you interested in a bit more, here's an excerpt from their project and blog:

The Trading Tortoise, a traveling art installation/trading post that we would set up in different communities around America to barter objects and stories with people. In exchange, they get something special from another place we’ve been. Either something we’ve collected ourselves or traded for.

They have fully backed the project in a whopping 3 days...but if you are so inclined, please consider adding more, they still have 15 days to go.

Keep in mind you won't be funding just a trip cross country -- The Trading Tortoise will be at many different and very important events along the way. Including, an Ed Emberley - inspired collaborative mural with Caleb Neelon at Children's Hospital Boston (In conjunction with a display of original work by Mr. Emberley)

To find out more check out their Kickstarter page.

 

La Fuerza Silenciosa & The Inside Out Project

Alicia Reyes McNamara emailed me back in December telling me that she and her friend, Kat Burdine would be taking part in JR's Inside Out Project in Honduras. I asked her to give me a holler when she completed it. And she has! Here's what they've done in her own words:

La Fuerza Silenciosa or in English, The Silent Strength is a public art instillation I did in Honduras with my friend, Kat Burdine. We are working in collaboration with the Inside Out project founded by the French artist, JR.

Between both Kat and I, we have lived and work in El Progreso, Honduras for six years and though we worked with various demographics, we were continuously struck by the silent strength of women in the community. We have photographed these women and have pasted their portraits up in the center of town as well as their neighborhoods to give homage to their strength and struggles. With this citywide instillation we hope to start a dialogue about all that women have accomplished. Las Progreseñas, or the women of El Progreso are the foundations of their communities.  They are the teachers, mothers, nurturers, and fighters for future of this town.

We wheatpasted 50 black and white portraits of these incredible women the third week of March of 2012, knowing the first week of April is "Semana Santa," Holy Week or Spring Break, when many people coming from out side cities and even internationally pass through El Progreso to get to the coastal beach towns.  We figured this would be the best time to take advantage of the heavy traffic so more people will have the possibility of seeing this project.

To see all of the images please check out my tumblr.