Boys & Girls Club 

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Community participation has become a growing part of my design process over the past few years. For my 2018 work, Endless Miles, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in Willowbrook, CA, I had the opportunity to engage with students at the local Boys and Girls Club. The Los Angeles County Arts Commission supported a series of artists lead design workshops, including a site tour of the completed work, a color theory design workshop and art production projects with the students. This engagement series has inspired me to think more deeply about the advantages of incorporating public participation throughout the production process.

 

Locals are an indispensable aspect of a community’s fabric; their knowledge and experience is a critical resource for uncovering features of a place that may not otherwise be seen or understood. A range of community events during the projects development phase, including art workshops and brainstorming sessions allow the community to share their expertise, contribute to the narrative of the work and bring dimension to the artwork that could not be achieved in isolation.