Awardee: Sarah Peoples & Emily Erb
Primary Artistic Medium: Multidisciplinary
Idea
Our Proposal is not so much what, but where. We propose to use an existing but empty sculpture base in Fairmount Park as a public stage to begin a new historical narrative that will prove to be engaging, interactive and inclusive. The sculpture base atop Lemon Hill is currently sitting vacant due to the previous statue having fallen into disrepair. In light of the Black Lives Matter movement we are witness to these vacancies of a tarnished history across the nation. The conversations have begun about what will fill these empty spaces. We would like to offer a template for what this can look like by starting with a location that is ready and waiting. We envision 5 months of programming beginning in the Spring of 2021 that showcases 5 professional artists each month from a variety of disciplines, each to be paid $500. As working artists in Philadelphia, we will consider ourselves “directors” and we will start with a call to artists in our own community having been cultivated over the past 20 years. Special consideration will be given to
- Underrepresented artists within prestigious/existing art institutional framework,
- Individuals with strong community engagement and
- Those expanding upon a socially relevant dialogue.
These values are ingrained in the mission of this project. This hub of arts activities will be broadcasted on the Lemon Hill Neighbors Association outlets, including their newly installed message board on Lemon Hill. We will have a website and a grand social media presence in order to drive public participation and knowledge of the events.
This project proposal has great scalability. We see Lemon Hill as the perfect jumping off point for this idea to spread throughout the country. The Corona Virus is not going away anytime soon. Experts often speak to the safety of outdoors as a way to be social with less risk. This project is the rare short term/long term vision of multi-disciplinary art practices that will truly bring people together, safely.
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