Article taken from The Times-Standard By HEATHER SHELTON | hshelton@times-standard.com | August 23, 2020 at 3:42 a.m.
Photo sourced from Heather Shelton — The Times-Standard.
Here are just a few of the works featured. From right is art by Mykia Washington, Monique Harper-Desir, Cora Dandeneau and more.
The Arcata Ball Park — usually bustling this time of year with boisterous fans cheering on beloved baseball games — sits quiet amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But, a fence at the field is anything but still this summer.
Vivid plywood panels — created by Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) and white community artists — can be viewed for the next six months along the Arcata Ball Park fence at 888 F St.
This public art project, called “Art on the Fence,” came to fruition through a partnership between equity arcata’s JustArts working group, Playhouse Arts at Arcata Playhouse and the city of Arcata. “Art on the Fence” is an extension of “Round Story,” an ongoing project of Playhouse Arts, which uses the arts to encourage conversations surrounding racial equity, social justice and changing demographics.
“The response has been overwhelmingly positive. We have heard from many BIPOC and white residents who have expressed support and admiration for the talented artists in the exhibit,” said Laura Muñoz, Round Story coordinator. “It has been very gratifying to stand by the fence and see people’s faces light up while seeing the panels, giving us thumbs up or curiously asking questions about the works.”
“Art on the Fence” showcases the work of Octavio Acosta, Tannyce Bunch, Cora Dandeneau, Monique Harper-Desir, Courtney Jamison, Veenadari Lakshika Jayakody, Halla Kramer, Mickey Montgomery, Xóchitl Cabrera-Sanchez, Aundrea “All’Love” Stuckey, Amy Uyeki, Nikki Valencia and Mykia Washington.
“Within the umbrella of the Round Story, we have been partnering with different communities inside the larger Humboldt community: the Native Women’s Collective, Centro del Pueblo, NAACP, Black Humboldt, Pacific Rim Humboldt, TRUEntertainment. These partnerships have given us opportunities to meet artists from different sections of our Humboldt society,” said Muñoz, noting that the “importance of ‘Art on the Fence’ at this time cannot be overstated.”
She said, “Its relevance has been made more obvious by the loud and articulate national and international uproar on issues of equity, and by the need to make our local BIPOC artists more visible.”
Humboldt State University student Xóchitl Cabrera-Sanchez says the “Art on the Fence” project was a great opportunity to represent “myself and my community.”
“I chose to focus on food injustice in Humboldt County while incorporating elements from Oaxaca, Mexico,” said Cabrera-Sanchez, noting her art “consists of representations of the past and its relevance to present time.”
Artist Courtney Jamison says the project was appealing “because it was an opportunity to express my point of view as a Black women.”
“It’s important because representation is needed in this community,” said Jamison, who hopes people viewing the work will “gain empathy and understanding for people who look different from themselves.”
Halla Kramer, 16, participated to “bring happiness to myself in these hard times.” Her art was inspired by Pride Month, she said, and “how it has changed the world.”
“The gray in my painting represents the old world, and the beautiful rainbow drips coming over the gray is the new colorful world in which pride is a part of,” she said.
Artist/arts activist Monique Harper-Desir said, “This project appealed to me because I assumed there would be a lack of representation of Black and Brown identities, and (I) wanted to include our visions of art.”
Harper-Desir — who strives to create conversations of equity and racial justice through her community work and her art — is currently creating several other “Black Life” pieces, she said, and is getting ready to publish a book of her photography and poetry.
Longtime local artist and instructor Amy Uyeki created a piece titled “Timeline/This Place,” a large relief carving and acrylic painting on Baltic birch board.
“My hope,” she said, “is that viewers will examine the idea of community and belonging, and look to examples in the past where welcoming new people is what you do in a place that belongs to no one.”
According to a press release for “Art on the Fence”:
· equity arcata’s purpose is to create a welcoming, safe and racially equitable community. For more information, visit equityarcata.com.
· JustArts was created to engage artists and artisans in community discussions on racial equity and social justice through art and to create more safe and brave spaces for local artists to express themselves through various art forms, in addition to raising the voices of BIPOC artists and hosting community workshops surrounding racial equity. For more information, visit equityarcata.com.
· Playhouse Arts uses the arts to build a community that is inspired and empowered to work together for the common good. For more information, visit arcataplayhouse.org.