Dwelling: Bleecker Co-op Memorial Project

Red Dress Productions developed and led the Bleecker Co-op Memorial Project, an immersive and collaborative creative process that engaged contributors – co-op members, staff, directors, and neighbours – from October 2011 to March 2012.

We began with several conceptual development open-call consultations that featured arts-based research. Activities included telling stories, brainstorming, and exploring visual representations of our ideas using oil pastel, mixed media, styrofoam plate carving and printing on fabric and paper, and collage. 

The artwork site (Bleccker Co-op's lobby)
prior to creation and installatio

We also examined the space that the artwork would ultimately live in, and discussed function, space use and traffic, and other site-specific environmental and architectural elements.

 The following images present the site – in Bleecker Street Co-op’s lobby – prior to installation, and Anna Camilleri’s work as lead artist, which bridges the arts-based research and production, or the design transformation phase, and finally the artwork itself.

Discussions were documented, and all sketches, collages, and prints were photographed. This development process was anchored by our goal: to create a large-scale artwork through collaborative processes that memorializes founding manager Diane Frankling in the 20th year of Bleecker Coop's proud and inclusive community.

Dwelling, a mixed media installation spans the wall as pictured, on both sides of the opening. 

Actual artwork dimensions are 10'x4' and 3'4"x4'.

Lead visual artist Anna Camilleri stewarded the progression of this arts-based research into a design, and the studio was opened. Scroll down to earlier posts for extensive documentation of our open studio environment.

We built this piece together: 2500+ volunteer hours were invested into the creation of this artwork. What had been initially been conceived as a two-dimensional mosaic mural, grew into a large-scale mixed media artwork including carpentry, custom ceramic, collage, and mosaic. 

In tandem with the development of the large-scale artwork, we also ran two small projects: children printed 250+ custom thank you cards for project contributors, and created a large cauldron-like bowl where suggestions for the artwork title were received at the unveiling event.

The unveiling reception event – attended by 200+ contributors, co-op members, and neighbours – was held on Sunday March 25, 2012, and. Speakers included Councillor Pam McConnell, Ontario’s Human Rights Commissioner Barbara Hall, MPP Glen Murray, Executive Director of the Co-operative Federation of Toronto Tom Clement, and TAC Grants Officer Andrew Suri.

Approximately 45 titles were suggested by contributors; Dwelling was selected.

Fabrication and Prep for the Bleecker Co-op Memorial Project

Making the bear "cartoon" for custom tile fabrication in Bleecker Co-op's ceramic studio.

A team of five artists -- Tristan R. Whiston, Anna Camilleri, Henry Campos, Katie Yealland, and Chantelle Gobeil -- worked on fabrication for two very exciting and labour intensive weeks in order to prepare for opening the studio to community contributors on January 29.

Clay slab fabricaton.

 The 24 piece cartoon is labeled so that nothing is lost in the collaboration between the mixed media (carpentry, wood, paint, mosaic) studio and the ceramic studio.

Cutting glass tile.

After the MDF boards were sealed and cradled, the scaled grid was rendered to guide wood construction and carpentry.

A Weldbond dilution (1 part Weldbond to 5 parts water) was used to seal and prime all wood.

2000+ glass gems were treated with paint and clear coat to produce custom colours.

Building level 1.

Our colour and materials palette.

Thinking about next steps.

Planning for the integration of level 3, which is being produced in the ceramic studio
under the leadership of Henry Campos.

400+ particle boards screws and Weldbond were used to build a stable (and non-porous) structure.

Custom Ceramics for the Bleecker Coop Memorial Project

The Bleecker Coop Memorial Project features several custom fabrication processes including handmade  tiles produced in Bleecker Coop's own ceramics studio: Studio 85  founded by ceramic artist Henry Campos. 


Henry led the first of two ceramics workshops (January 17 and 30) with more than 10 coop members.  It seems appropriate that  contributors are producing two special elements of the artwork -- the Great Bear and the blue orbs, which are an abstracted representation of the Great Bear constellation, most commonly known as Ursa Major.

Handmade ceramic tiles.

Brushing on glaze.

Henry describing clay particle structure.

A demonstration of how to test slab depth.

Eva, Noel, and Liliana rolling out their clay slabs. 

Liliana preparing canvas grounds.

Gary working on the wheel.

A demonstration of rolling technique to produce consistent slab depth.

Bleecker Coop Memorial Project: The Design is Unveiled

untitled, Anna Camilleri, 2012, 10" x 32", paper on birch bark

We had a great meeting on Thursday January 12, 2012. More than 30 community members came out to view and offer feedback to the design. It's an exciting moment in the life of a project. In a community engaged art context, design "unveiling" is the culmination of conceptual development and arts-based research with community members over several months. 


To briefly review our path, we met with community members, staff, and directors from October to December. Together, we told stories, brainstormed ideas, motivation, visual motif and themes, and then we moved beyond talking. Using simple materials and techniques, we explored visual expressions for our ideas.  We also looked at the space that the work will ultimately live in, and discussed function, space use, and other site-specific environmental and architectural elements. This development process was -- and is --anchored by our goal: to create a large-scale artwork through collaborative processes that memorializes our beloved founding manager Diane Frankling in this 20th year of Bleecker Coop's proud and inclusive community.

detail

As the artwork suggests, the mosaic we're about to begin building is more of installation than mural; the work is dimensional with high and low relief elements that we'll build in layers. The images below are technical drawings, presented here in their fabrication order: level 1 supports level 2, and level 3 is supported by levels 1 and 2. We viewed them on a light table (one on top of the other), which reveals the design and structural fabrication in its totality. 

Technical Drawing Level 1, (c) Anna Camilleri, 2012

Technical Drawing Level 2, (c) Anna Camilleri, 2012

Technical Drawing Level 3, (c) Anna Camilleri, 2012

Artwork Site, Bleecker Street Cooperative lobby

The mosaic installation will span the wall as pictured, on both sides of the opening. Actual artwork dimensions will be 10'x4' and 3'4"x4'.


We'd like to acknowledge the community members, staff, and directors who contributed to the conceptual development of this design. Thank you for your support, wisdom, openness, and creativity. 


We gratefully acknowledge the support of the citizens of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council, and the Cooperative Housing Federation of Toronto.


Tristan and I would also want to recognize our stellar team:


Enrique Campos | Ceramic Artist
Katie Yealland | Photographer and Technician
Heidi Cho | Community Artist
Chantelle Gobeil | Associate Artist
Ryan Hayward | Coordinator
Andrew Henderson| Intern
Dominique Grant | Apprentice
Dorian Johnson | Youth Leader
Emily Jones | Youth Leader


We look forward to seeing you in the studio: the doors open on Sunday January 29, and the first of two ceramics workshops will be led by Enrique on Tuesday January 17. The complete schedule is posted here (and on the Bleecker Coop Memorial Project link at the top of this page)! 


Everyone is welcome. No experience is needed and all materials are provided. 


--Anna Camilleri, Lead Artist

      OPEN STUDIO SCHEDULE

DATE TIME Tuesday January 17 ceramics workshop 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. Sunday, January 29 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. Monday, January 30 ceramics workshop 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. Tuesday, January 31 5 p.m. – 9 pm. Saturday, February 4 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. Monday, February 6 LOBBY studio 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. Thursday, February 9 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Sunday, February 12 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. Wednesday, February 15 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Thursday, February 16 LOBBY studio 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Saturday, February 18 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. Monday, February 20 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Wednesday, February 22 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Sunday, Feb 26 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb 28 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Friday, March 2 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. Saturday, March 3 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. Monday, March 5 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Thursday, March 8 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Sunday, March 11 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 13 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Thursday, March 15 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Saturday, March 17 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Introducing Youth Apprentice Domanique Grant and Youth Leaders Dorian Johnson and Emily Jones!

We're pleased to introduce you to Domanique Grant, who will be apprenticing with Red Dress Productions on the Bleecker Coop Memorial Project.


While emerging as a singer-songwriter, Domanique Grant's additional work as an actress, dancer and advocate, combined with her studies as a double major in Theatre and International Development at York University,  has set her apart as a young multidisciplinary using her versatility in the arts to help mobilize young people across Canada by using art to promote social change. At the age of 21, Grant is the youngest ever President of Atkinson Housing Cooperative, the youngest Vice-President of the Coop Housing Federation of Toronto and the Fine Arts Director for The York Students Federation. She has been featured in The Toronto Star and the Toronto Metro, with commendations for her work in the community.


We're also delighted to introduce distinguished youth leaders Emily Jones and Dorian Johnson! 


Emily writes: "I was proudly born and raised into the Bleecker Street Coop. I am a musician/songwriter and spend majority of my time working towards making my beloved hobby into a career. I have always been involved with different projects in the co-op, but I have never taken a leadership role such as this one. Therefor, I am eagerly looking forward to being involved with this project. I feel that I have a lot to learn, yet also a lot to teach. I am so thrilled to be a helping hand in our co-op's beautiful mosaic piece, and I can already tell that it will be such a great representation of not only Bleecker Coop, but of all the amazing housing we have in our city."


Dorian writes: "I have been actively involved in my community through school teams and clubs such as the Heritage Club and Peer Leading, which aim to foster a positive space for all students. I have also been involved in cooperative housing as a youth representative in numerous national conferences as well as the recipient of the 2006 Youth Award from the Coop Housing Federation of Toronto, and I now serve as the Treasurer on the Bleecker Street Coop Board of Directors. Growing up in Bleecker Street Coop, I have been surrounded by a supportive community which positively influences our members to actively involve ourselves in our own social development. Community leaders such as Diane Frankling have instilled a feeling of pride in the community at large which has contributed to amazing improvements within the co-op and our community at large. It is these values that drive me to commemorate the great work Diane and the community has done, in creating such a wonderful place to raise our children. I believe it is critical that we continue to strive towards creating a positive community and this project as well as previous mosaics are amazing and creative representations of the possibilities of such community collaborations."

Creating Legacy: Designing for Past, Present, and Future

We've now had several community meetings with Bleecker Coop members, directors, and staff, and many  ideas have been generated through creative explorations of motif, movement, positive and negative space, colour, texture, and abstract and representational elements. 


What had been initially been conceived as a two-dimensional mosaic mural, has grown into an environmental site-specific installation that will include a large-scale mosaic mural, and modular sculptural weight-bearing works. The progression of not only the concept but also the expansion of form and disciplinary modalities are attributable to the creative and aesthetic capacities of the Bleecker Coop community. 


Legacy often refers to the tangible or material evidence or "product" of a project or combined effort. We've been thinking for several months now about the other stuff -- that which can't be measured; the residual or "soft" stuff in community engaged creative endeavours -- and how to understand and more deeply cultivate this. 


At Bleecker Coop, we have the tremendous opportunity and honour to directly experience the fruits of our labour over time. We worked with community members on two previous large-scale mosaic projects (in 2006 and 2007), and it is this history of creating together that engenders confidence and openness in contributors to bring a wealth of ideas to the table, and explore those ideas through various mediums. On this project, we've heard folks say i/we can and i/we will more often than we've heard i/we can't. The creative capacity of the community here is a great part of its legacy, and for this, we acknowledge and remember Bleecker Coop founding manager Diane Frankling who stewarded and nurtured this cooperative and its communities in ways both large and small; tangible and residual. 


We look forward to continuing in the New Year with ceramics workshops lead by Enrique Campos (where we'll fabricate some of our tiles), and to the design unveiling and vetting meeting on January 12, 2012. 


In the meantime, I've posted a few images that invite you into my process of stewarding the progression of a design that emerges from our arts-based research with community members. 


We've often been asked: How do you steward the progression of a design working with ideas, motif, and art experiments that community members bring to the table?  The short answer is this: if you scroll down (or search blog entries tagged Bleecker Coop Memorial Project) you'll see a direct relationship between the design and its path. You'll see abstract and representational elements of Dorian's trees, Ali's bear, Liliana's woven collage, Kate and Heidi's orbs, Tristan's constellation,  Enrique's lines flowing from a bear, Irene and Minda's vertical columns, Gary's ambers and golds, David's forest, Joe's waters, and Emily's gingham pattern.

Experiment 1, Anna Camilleri, paper mounted on birch bark, 14" x 8"

detail

I've chosen to experiment and think about relief elements in mosaic by weaving and layering paper.

Line and Colour

At our fourth Bleecker Coop Memorial Project community meeting last night, we focused on line and colour; movement and pattern. Here's some of what emerged from our inquiry. 

Photography by Katie Yealland.