Amphi Action Mural Project: Part 1

            The Amphi neighborhood has the second highest amount of criminal damage violations such as graffiti and the highest amount of juvenile violations, narcotic violations, motor vehicle thefts, and offenses against families and children. Domestic violence, gangs, tagging, and drugs are all substantial issues surrounding this neighborhood and the children growing up in it. Mostly, this is a challenge for the teens and younger children who can easily be influenced from peer pressure both in and outside of school and home. Unfortunately, many of these teens end up going to a juvenile detention center that usually results in dropping out of school without getting a GED. Each child that becomes a victim to this lifestyle is a tremendous loss for the neighborhood and the Tucson Arts Brigade is taking action to reverse this growing trend.

            The Tucson Arts Brigade’s (TAB) has been invited to help this neighborhood by creating a mural at the Woods Library, which is in the heart of the neighborhood. This library is located at 3455 N. First Ave. Tucson, AZ 85719. The surrounding streets of the Amphi neighborhood range between First Avenue, Fort Lowell Road, Oracle Road and Roger Road. This is a vast area in the Tucson community. Cultural development projects such as these are none in the Amphi neighborhood. There are abandoned properties, junked cars and unkempt yards and homes making living environments quite hazardous, especially for young children. Many of the streets are very desolate with many dirt lots, no paved sidewalks, and walls surrounding homes and businesses are filled with graffiti. The TAB wishes to have the children and teens participate in this mural to help them get involved and help build healthy, safe, compassionate and vibrant neighborhoods, increase literacy, reducing violence and beautify the places they live and work.

            A group of 25 youth ages 9-21 are being be led through an 12-week course. Students are tasked with the complete process of designing, creating and installing a work of public art. The students are learning about the history of murals, the emerging and exciting field of community cultural development as well as the fundamental elements of art and principles of design. TAB teaches the students about the project first and what they intend to accomplish both for the mural itself and what it is meant to represent in the community. All of these kids are incredibly creative and have minds that are always open to discover something new. TAB likes to try to use those characteristics to have the students do something positive in their lives. Symbols of hope, love and strength are instilled in each unique mural TAB paints.

Painting on the Amphi Action mural started in May, 2013

            These murals change the lives of the students that participate in the projects and to the rest of the people living in the neighborhood. The Tucson Arts Brigade hopes that everyone feels a sense of ownership to and pride in this mural and that it becomes a destination and source of inspiration for years to come. We are looking for your support to help this plan can become a reality in the very near future. Any little donation can help make a difference in a young student’s life!

Community partner organizations include; Amphi Neighborhood Association, Pima County Public Library, Amphi Community Action Group, Good Neighbor Ventures, United Way, C-Corp Mentoring Program and Trees for Tucson.

Thank you TPAC PLACE IV on behalf of the Open Society Institute for support of the Amphi Action Mural Project and this after school program for youth ages 8 - 21 

This project meets Thursdays 5:30- 7, Feb 21 – May 30 at Woods Library 3455 N First Ave., Tucson, AZ 

To enroll or for more information about this and other programs email ArtsBrigadeMAP@gmail.com

RAISING A STAR FOR ARTS EDUCATION

  “Art Under the Stars” is a Tucson Arts Brigade (TAB) fundraising event to honor and celebrate TAB’s highest donors, brightest star students, and stellar arts education programs on Tuesday, June 18^th, 5-10pm, at La Cocina in Old Town Artisans, 201 N. Court Avenue.  Enjoy food, cash bar, entertainment, raffles, and participate in the silent auction of TAB's Traveling Arts Show featuring over 40 professional and emerging artists.  Pre-sale tickets are $20 and $25 at the door.

This event features classical music by Palladio String Quartet, Afro-Cuban by Baba Kosan & Friends, folk funk and cosmic Americana by Stuart Oliver & The Desert Angels, bluegrass by The Greg Morton Band, pop punk rock by The HypnoGogs, and other local musicians.  The Traveling Art Show Silent Auction features local “Shooting Star” professional artists including Mary Theresa Dietz,Victor Navarro, and Robert Renfrow to “Rising Star” emerging artists, as well as students from Art Awakenings, a program of PSA Behavioral Health Agency.  Jodi Netzer, performing artist and TAB’s Director of Outreach & Marketing as well as the Director of The Water Festival, will be the MC.  In addition to bidding on the wide diversity of art from the silent auction, patrons can purchase raffle tickets and contribute cash, checks or credit card donations.  The highest donor of the evening will receive a special gift.

The “Art Under the Stars” fundraising event is an opportunity to learn about TAB’s programs and successes while investing money into arts education and how we re-envision our neighborhoods. Tucson Arts Brigade runs a lean organization with 90% of donations going directly towards programs and services rather than administration.  Your contributions make a huge impact.

The amazing story of Tucson Arts Brigade began in 1996. Since then TAB has offered community arts programs that deal with the issues many schools and neighborhoods have identified. Tucson Arts Brigade specializes in “arts intervention” and “community cultural development” – using creative means to enhance quality of life issues. Problems such as tagging, bullying, low test scores and neighborhood revitalization are TAB’s primary targets. The organization’s services and highly effective programs are in great demand, having over 90 project requests during the last two years.  TAB is still in need of major funding to fulfill all of these project requests. “Art Under the Stars” is an opportunity to learn about Tucson Arts Brigade’s mission, its staff, and to meet the needs of community.

83.4% of the youth in Tucson Arts Brigade’s program are low income or below the poverty line and many are at risk of becoming homeless.  Youth in TAB’s programs come from throughout Tucson, but a majority of them live in the neighborhoods that have requested our services, including Amphi, Miracle Manor, Barrio Centro, Midvale, Julia Keen, Meyers, Alvernon Heights, Roberts, Naylor and Corbett.

100% of the older youth (16 – 22) who went through Tucson Arts Brigade programs were prepared and have entered the workforce and/or higher education.

Tucson Arts Brigade programs include: The Mural Arts Program as part of TAB’s “Beautify and Unify” campaign, the Dance Theater Program offering workshops and performances involving both professional artists and beginners, and the Teaching Artist Lecture Series featuring established artists who present their art.  TAB’s environmental component emphasizes the use of sustainable design practices, water stewardship, and creative solutions through The Water Festival.

TAB’s programs teach the elements of art, principles of design, art history in relation to worldly contexts, and workforce preparedness – decision-making skills, team building, financial literacy, and building self-confidence while learning how to interview and speak in public, prepare portfolios, and connect with opportunities and services to reach their goals.  

ONE OF MANY SUCCESS STORIES: 

Juan was 15 years old when he joined Tucson Arts Brigade’s program in 2010. His mother had called worried that he would keep getting into trouble. He was on probation for tagging and other small crimes. TAB provided guidance and transformed his allusive habits into a creative outlet of community-engaged mural-making and defining his life and career goals, which were to find a stable place to live, get his G.E.D. and find a job. TAB helped Juan develop his creative sensibilities and accomplish all three goals, as well as identifying scholarship money to attend higher education in the arts.

“TAB really opened my eyes to getting things done. I used to be lazy, it's like having a job, having something on your schedule to do.  It impacted me to keep moving - perseverance right? My story's changed a lot because I used to be not really caring and just doing what everyone else was doing. I was on probation, TAB helped me a lot with that and getting my community service hours in and staying concentrated on something. Without TAB I would probably be at my friend's house or Juvi or Rondstat Center or I dunno, I wouldn't have a straight head on though, probably more scars though.” ~Juan

TAB’s Director, Teaching Artist, and Muralist Michael B. Schwartz says, “We know that virtually everyone wants to support arts education in our schools and communities and that everyone loves and support what we do. Currently TAB is able to respond to only a fraction of requests. Now we are coming to you to say ‘Let's respond to all of the needs.’”

For more information about Tucson Arts Brigade and their list of services, and to reserve tickets to “Art Under the Stars”, go to www.TucsonArtsBrigade.org or call 520-623-2119.

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TUCSON ARTS BRIGADE (TAB) is a 501(c)(3) service-based community arts and education organization, specializing in building cultural capital, offering creative intergenerational and cross-cultural opportunities for civic engagement. TAB facilitates dialogue and employs arts-based solutions to complex community issues, including tagging, bullying, crime, health, empowering youth & elders, beautification, and community development.

Together We Thrive Mural Update

The Weaver, with details of Empire Market and Coronado Hotel

On January 8^th, 2011, the city of Tucson came under the national spotlight as millions of people learned about a shooting that had taken place. The attack left multiple people wounded, six dead, and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in critical condition. Giffords had been shot in the head, and the political nature of the shooting drew in huge national media coverage. President Obama traveled to Tucson to mourn the six lives that were lost in the shooting, and to address the attack on Congresswoman Giffords. He encouraged community healing and delivered a speech centered upon the theme “Together We Thrive”.

To be decided!

Tucson Arts Brigade (TAB) sought to embody this theme, and to use it as the foundation for a mural commemorating the lives lost in this tragedy and all of the people who were affected by it. The mural would be located in the heart of the 4^th Avenue district, where TAB had originally planned to restore their 1997 mural entitled “Share the Bounty”. Instead, the Together We Thrive mural project on 4^th Avenue began.

"Participants are currently discussing what should go in the remaining six blank spots on the mural."

 

As the planning process started, the project gradually transformed. The theme of thriving together as a community was still at the heart of this muralendeavor, but it began to expand beyond just the shooting that took place. Members of the Tucson community engaged in a dialogue about the future of this mural and, much to the surprise of TAB, a different focus took shape.

Detail of Weavers Tapestry

The theme of “Together We Thrive”, at its core, is about more than community during crisis. It’s about community in daily life, the community that continually shapes us. Though the vision for the “Together We Thrive” mural was born out of tragedy, it now seeks to celebrate Tucson’s history of thriving together as a community in the 4^th Avenue district. 

The base of the mural is the original 1997 “Share the Bounty” mural project. TAB is working to reconstruct and modify the original mural, building the “Together We Thrive” mural by transforming and adding to the existing components. The 4^th Avenue merchants and residents shared their input for the project with TAB and together they formed the new focus for the mural. The goal for this mural project is that it will celebrate the history and community of the 4^th Avenue district, while integrating pieces of the original “Share the Bounty” mural. It’s a blend of the old with the new, a rich and colorful progression celebrating Tucson community.

 

Power to the People Detail

There are two main pieces of this mural project, located in Haggerty Plaza located at 316 N 4th Ave.. The first piece of the mural has been completed, but the second piece is still in progress. TAB would greatly appreciate your support in moving forward with the second half of this mural project.

If you would like to get involved in the Together We Thrive mural project, please email info@tucsonartsbrigade.org or call (520) 623-2119 or visit our website at www.tucsonartsbrigade.org

Piney Hollow, and the Native Seeds Gardener Detail

 Whats Next?

you are formally invited to join us to participate in a…

Long Time Residents

~ Story Sharing ~

 TUESDAY  

January 8^th

^6pm-8pm

^@

The Historic Y

 ^{738 N. 5th Ave. Suite # 101-c}

If you grew up, worked or lived around 4^th Ave., or are interested in Tucson stories, we invite you to join us for an evening of story telling and art making. This information will be used in the design of a mural in Michael Haggerty Plaza (316 N 4^th Ave)

 For More Information or to RSVP, call the Tucson Arts Brigade at (520)-623-2119

 

Annual 911 Day of Arts Service

By Victor Lopez

On September 9^th, 2012, the members of Tucson Arts Brigade along with local volunteers gathered together at the 29^th Street Overpass adjacent to the Jim and Vicky Click Boys and Girls Club for the annual Day of Arts Service, in remembrance of 9/11. 

Between 1pm and 5pm, light landscaping, repainting, and an overall cleanup were done in the area surrounding the overpass. At the end of the day, participants gathered together to share their personal experience on 9/11. The different experiences and viewpoint’s on 9/11 were quite intriguing. 

A majority of the adult volunteers spoke of family members that were closely involved, the experience of those family members, and what emotions they went through when they found out about the attack. The youth volunteers generally spoke about the effects of 9/11 that are apparent today from a younger generation’s perspective. 

One issue that the entirety of the group made very clear is that, we need to not only recognize global tragedies, but everyday problems such as the homelessness in our cities all the way to tagging and gang violence. We all need to do our part and put in the work to become a thriving cooperative community. 

Victor Lopez is a Tucson Arts Brigade intern and is currently a senior at Amphi High School, Vice President of the school mural club, and helping TAB employ Community Cultural Development strategies in the Amphi Neighborhood.

Vibrations Music Festival Live Murals

Poster for Vibrations Music Festival

  From Thursday July 19 - to the wee hours of Sunday July 22 the Tucson Arts Brigade summer mural crew weathered a few storms and installed a series of six interlocked images. These designs were grotesques by request of the Slaughterhouse  in that the site is a popular local Haunted House. Painted in acrylic throughout the two days festival, these murals each represented an milestone in the careers of some of Tucson's most talented and ambitious young artists. The Artists Team included Aileen Boggs, Bryan De Los Reyas, Jacqi Garcia, Aria Pelayo, Juan Rey Rocha and team leader Michael Schwartz. This project was a collaboration with Digital Vibe Entertainment and a special Thanks to Alana Luna for setting this up!

Ari and friend in action

Aileen working on details.

The murals took three LONG days to create.

Blog Consolidation 1

We are in the process of streamlining our many blogs, eliminating ones we don't need and attempting to make this material a little more easy to navigate and enjoy.

Note this project is on hold. Follow the links to find out about how you can get involved in other Community Arts programs.

The now deleted Archer Neighborhood History Mural Blog

 The Archer Center Mural Site had only one posting on June 13, 2010 that read:

“This site will report on the Archer Neighborhood Center Mural project. This exciting after school mural project starts in September and includes;

- After school mural arts workshops for youth ages 11-17 (Mondays 3-5pm)

- Neighborhood design sessions and

- Inter-generational Workshops

Check back soon!

About Fred Archer

A flier was circulated and several youth responded to an question and answer session. After the presentation it was clear youth were excited about the project.

The Flier Read:

“ Do you like Painting and Drawing?

Join the Archer Center  Neighborhood Youth Mural Team

Who: Youth Ages 11 - 17

When: start DATE TBA

Where: Fred Archer Center 1665 S. La Cholla Blvd.

What: We will be collectively designing a mural for the lobby of the Archer Center. The mural team will go on to paint and install the mural after approval.”

"The project never did come to pass, but lessons were learned that have become invaluable as Tucson citizens weave a web of arts and culture that can stand the test of time. In reality we learned so much about the barriers and challenges to creating murals in our current economic and cultural climate."  - Excerpt from artists journal Sept. 2010

Blast from the Past TAB Spring 1999 Newsletter

You can enlarge images by clicking on them.