Monday, November 8, 2010

Move, Paint Create!


Over the past few weeks we have been working hard getting the word out about Tucson Arts Brigade and our work bringing artists to work in school, community centers, with neighborhoods and organizations.


A few weeks ago we were honored to host guest artist Mizu Desierto from Portland and local Tucson artist Jodi Netzer. They teamed up to teach a dance/theatre workshop and present a special premiere performance at the Rhythm Industry Performance Factory. Bodies of Water was a preview of the 2nd annual The Water Project: Tucson’s Synergistic Water Festival, a festival that promotes creative and proactive solutions for our most precious resource.



We have a great new website, you have to check it out!


Also we participated in a bunch of fall fiestas including Barrio Centro, the 29th Street Celebration, Tucson Meet Yourself, Green Builders Expo, and the HOKO Festival. People could come get their face painting or create recycled art from plastic bottles.





Our Mural Arts Program up and running!

Tuesday - Howenstein High School 3-5pm (For youth living in Barrio Centro)

Wednesdays - Boys and Girls Club on 29th and Columbus, 2:30 - 4:30

Thursdays - Arts For All on Oracle (for youth city wide), 4 - 6pm.

We are scheduling several other projects so look for some fantastic new murals in the months to come!

Our Youth Advisory Board will be meeting this winter. If you know youth who are interested in facilitating their OWN community arts project please contact us so we can tell you how to get involved. This group will have their own budget and 100 percent youth led process.


We are asking artists to bring examples of their work to our next meeting Monday November 15 6-7pm at the Armory Park Community Center 220 S. 5th Ave.. We will be sharing our work and talking about an upcoming exhibition and TAB fund raising opportunity.

More updates soon!


Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Looking Forward Looking Back

For the September 11 National Day of Service we prepared
 the mural site at Arts for All. 
That night we led the Play Area Sandbox at BatNight

I love this blog, mostly because I can share the story of TAB's 15 years of work in an open environment. Many of the murals we have created in Tucson over the years have been connected to a group or event. That is to say they are community initiated and involve dozens of people in every step of the process. 

This fall we will be starting three new projects. We will be working with Arts for All, Barrio Centro Neighborhood Association and the 29th Street Coalition on designing and painting a series of four murals. We created blogs for Barrio Centro and the 29th Street projects. We are still awaiting the go ahead on the plans for the Archer Center mural. We expect that project to take place in 2011.

Also we are in the early stages of planning a mural about water to coincide with the annual Water Project Festival.  

I have no idea what these murals will look like, that's part of the fun of this work. The people who live, learn, play and work in these areas will be doing the designing and painting. 

The same is true for the two murals seen below. These projects were both done before digital cameras took over the world. I'll see if I can't dig up some better images.

NAAPAE (North American Alliance for Popular and Adult Education) Mural
5 1⁄2’ X 30’ on Canvas
Where: OISE/University of Toronto, CANADA
When: February, 1999
Lead Artist: Michael Schwartz

About this mural:
Mural from the Commonfire Conference: Coming Together Across Borders and Issues for Economic, Environmental and Social Justice. This Participatory mural was created by over 75 participants during the five day conference in Tucson, AZ. The mural, on canvas, was then shipped to Canada.

Seeds for Life
7’ x 7’ Acrylics on Wood
Where: Private Family Garden, Tucson, Arizona, USA
When: 1999
Artist Facilitator: Michael Schwartz
About this mural:
This project involved 26 people in an intergenerational 12 week project. The mural depicts the four directions, four elements (water, air, fire, earth) and the genetic diversity of the Sonoran Bioregion. We discussed gardening, seeds, rotations of life, the moon and much more.


More to come next month!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Two New 2010 Murals

Miracle Manor Neighbors reviewing their mural design.

2010 - "Miracle Manor Neighborhood Mural"
Location: 2520 N. 15th Ave
14' x 64'
©2010 Tucson Arts Brigade/YES Network/Michael B. Schwartz


2010 - The 4 B's
Location: Wakefield Middle School
8' x 30'
©2010 Tucson Arts Brigade/Wakefield Muralists /Michael B. Schwartz

The Tucson Arts Brigade's Mural Arts Program (TMAP) has several new murals about town that have involved dozens of people in every aspect of the mural planning and production process. You can follow the links to the project sites.