A PLACE TO CO - CREATE
I am constantly interested in building a more connected network of artists of all landscapes to be able to work together, and share each others brilliant thoughts and creations, in the hopes that it will stimulate growth in our awareness, hold each other accountable in positive ways, and spread deliberate acts of kindness across the globe. Here is another initiative.
an open letter, and call to artists:
Dear ARTIST,
from Edwin Huizinga and Alison Keery.
How are you? These are certainly interesting times filled with many mountains and valleys. In an effort to help find opportunities for artistic engagement within our communities my dear friend and colleague, we have started a new initiative. Something both of us have found has come out of our current lock-down is that, at times, we can feel completely on our own and we might not be inspired to create, express or engage with our respective art forms. By working collaboratively, we have found a place of support and positive accountability and are interested in finding opportunities to build more connections and foster relationships between artists in our respective fields (music and movement). We’d like to provide a playground for you to come together with other artists and co-create. As we are all presenting more and more in the two-dimensional world of the internet, we feel that this is an opportunity for artists to share more in regards to their various processes.
We have found a place of support and positive accountability and are interested in finding opportunities to build more connections and foster relationships between artists in our respective fields (music and movement). This is even more important as we have these important global discussions around racism, white privilege and the importance of amplifying BIPOC voices in our communities. We’d like to provide a playground for artists to come together with other artists and co-create. As we are all presenting more and more in the two-dimensional world of the internet, we feel that this is an opportunity for artists to share more in regards to their various processes.
For this first phase of A Place to Co-Create we are inviting you to engage in an experiment using a similar structure to a collaboration we recently embarked upon. We are asking you to send us a 50 (max) word response to the question: Why are you an Artist. We will then pair you up with a musician/movement artist and from that you are free to create something inspired by their music/movement. We ask that there be some sort of final “shareable” creation - for instance a video that we can post to our website and that you can share with each other. It does not need to be any more than 2-5 minutes in length. If you have other ideas please feel free to connect with us and we can see what we can do to support it. We also ask that you include a short description of your process. The description, your video and your 50word answer to the above question will be shared here. From there we invite you to witness each other’s collaborations and to feel free to connect with each other beyond A Place to Co-Create. To submit your intention to participate in this experiment please respond with your 50 word answer. As soon as you are paired with a musician you will have 21 days to complete your project.
As this is the first phase of this project and we are predominantly aiming to engage in creative stimulation we cannot provide funding for your project, however we will be here to support you should you need any assistance as you embark on this experiment.
We want to acknowledge that the intention behind this project is to support each other, hold each other accountable through positivity and to spread kindness. This project is evolving and we welcome feedback, discussions and new ideas.
Thank you for your time and consideration in engaging in our adventure.
All the best to you and yours.
Stay Safe. Stay Healthy.
an open letter, and call to artists:
Dear ARTIST,
from Edwin Huizinga and Alison Keery.
How are you? These are certainly interesting times filled with many mountains and valleys. In an effort to help find opportunities for artistic engagement within our communities my dear friend and colleague, we have started a new initiative. Something both of us have found has come out of our current lock-down is that, at times, we can feel completely on our own and we might not be inspired to create, express or engage with our respective art forms. By working collaboratively, we have found a place of support and positive accountability and are interested in finding opportunities to build more connections and foster relationships between artists in our respective fields (music and movement). We’d like to provide a playground for you to come together with other artists and co-create. As we are all presenting more and more in the two-dimensional world of the internet, we feel that this is an opportunity for artists to share more in regards to their various processes.
We have found a place of support and positive accountability and are interested in finding opportunities to build more connections and foster relationships between artists in our respective fields (music and movement). This is even more important as we have these important global discussions around racism, white privilege and the importance of amplifying BIPOC voices in our communities. We’d like to provide a playground for artists to come together with other artists and co-create. As we are all presenting more and more in the two-dimensional world of the internet, we feel that this is an opportunity for artists to share more in regards to their various processes.
For this first phase of A Place to Co-Create we are inviting you to engage in an experiment using a similar structure to a collaboration we recently embarked upon. We are asking you to send us a 50 (max) word response to the question: Why are you an Artist. We will then pair you up with a musician/movement artist and from that you are free to create something inspired by their music/movement. We ask that there be some sort of final “shareable” creation - for instance a video that we can post to our website and that you can share with each other. It does not need to be any more than 2-5 minutes in length. If you have other ideas please feel free to connect with us and we can see what we can do to support it. We also ask that you include a short description of your process. The description, your video and your 50word answer to the above question will be shared here. From there we invite you to witness each other’s collaborations and to feel free to connect with each other beyond A Place to Co-Create. To submit your intention to participate in this experiment please respond with your 50 word answer. As soon as you are paired with a musician you will have 21 days to complete your project.
As this is the first phase of this project and we are predominantly aiming to engage in creative stimulation we cannot provide funding for your project, however we will be here to support you should you need any assistance as you embark on this experiment.
We want to acknowledge that the intention behind this project is to support each other, hold each other accountable through positivity and to spread kindness. This project is evolving and we welcome feedback, discussions and new ideas.
Thank you for your time and consideration in engaging in our adventure.
All the best to you and yours.
Stay Safe. Stay Healthy.
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Why are you an artist?
For me art is about shared experience. It’s about deepening the various participants' relationships to themselves, to each other, to their engagement with the world. Whether you are performer or audience member art has the ability to transcend verbal language and to awaken our kinaesthetic existence. |
Alison's Response to Into the Forest:
Listening to this variation of Vocalise I was so deeply moved by the conversation between piano and violin but it felt less like two individuals and more like an internal dialogue. While we all navigate the challenges of our present lock-down world I am reminded of how important nature is in my own ability to self-discover. I often find myself entering into the wild in order to find myself. I wanted to play with using a digital medium to express an organic experience considering so much of our world is presently occurring in the two-dimensional world. |
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Why are you and artist?
Art has always been an integral part of my life. Since I was a young girl, dance was an incredible outlet for me as an individual. Art has allowed me to express my inner soul and passion through ways I could never explain in words. Without art I would not be the person I am today. |
Shayla’s Response to Into the Forest:
As I began dancing in the woods, I was inspired by the pure essence of nature around me. The process began by improvising and recreating images of sculptures by August Rodin, Milo de Venus and the stunning Winged Victory. I embodied the shapes and textures I could see through the image, and used my own creative interpretation to understand the meaning of each statue. I was drawn to the image of the expansive and powerful Winged Victory as my body started to feel the emotion and power that came from within. |
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Why are you an Artist?
Growing up , beyond my incredible connection to nature, and my immediate family, and animals and pets around the house, I felt the deepest connection to music. I also often felt misunderstood, and helpless with words. Over the course of the last three decades I have found my voice with my violin, and music. I love to dance, and sing, and write, and move, however with music I feel like I'm really learning to be able to tell - and share - a story. Thank you for listening. Let us bring back the element of play in our culture, in our society, in our lives. |
Edwin's Response to Into the Forest:
I sent a beautiful piece of music that I have loved for a long time to my dear friend Alison, and asked if she would be interested in creating something along to the music - that was it, kind of like a call for action - we talked about holding each other accountable for being creative, and positive in this hard time. For me, it often really helps to collaborate and know someone is looking and curious, and ready to respond to something I am doing. Emotionally it often also helps battle loneliness and anxiety. I truly hope you all enjoy this creation and know that it is only the beginning as we gather other artists interested in working together. |