Ariana Jacob has initiated a new poster campaign and seeks your participation. The project poses open ended questions displayed as posters in public windows. The first installment asks: How much is the fate of this place all ours? Respond by calling her special response “hotline” @ (503) 575-9031.
Jacob, currently a student in PSU’s social practice program, has been making curious and thought-provoking images for several years. Her previous silkscreen works (often found wheatpasted on public buildings) are some of the more moving images I have seen since I have lived in Portland. She has also recently designed a poster for the Dill Pickle Club’s upcoming field trip HOW ARE THINGS MADE.
Back in November, I had the good fortune of meeting and interviewing Abigail Satinsky, one of the co-founders of the Institute for Community Understanding Between Art and the Everyday (InCUBATE Chicago). Started as a collaborative between arts administration students at the School of the Art Institute at Chicago, InCUBATE is dedicated to researching and developing alternative funding models to commercial and non-profit arts projects.
As a former arts admin student and someone who has worked somewhat begrudgingly at NPOs for the past 10 years, I had an immediate interest in InCUABTE’s work. Their research carries added relevance as we contemplate the long-term affects of our current ecnomic recession.
Perhaps InCUBATE’s most well-known project is Sunday Soup, a monthly gathering wherein participants pay $10 for a bowl of soup and vote on an artist project to receive the raised funds. The grants, while small in scale (usually $100-$300) adopt a Muhammad Yunnus style approach to funding, allowing for the support of small to medium sized cultural productions.
In April, InCUBATE funded the production of my book, Brains, Brilliancy, Bohemia, and I gave a lecture on Chicago hobohemianism at a Sunday Soup event.
This month two separate InCUBATE-inspired gatherings come to Portland.
First up is Stock, organized by Katy Asher, Ariana Jacob and Amber Bell. The dinner will take place at Gallery Homeland, Sunday, July 26th, from 6-9 PM. Read the guidelines and application process here.
Next is Food For Thought, a project focusing on political/ activist projects. The event is organized by Axiom Infoshop, a group trying to start a book shop, free store and info-center in North Portland. Meeting time and location TBD; visit their site for details.
Time to get cookin!
