Portfolio > Civil Engagement

collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
5-4'(W) x 8'(H) x5"(D) panels
2008
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2008
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2008
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2008
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2008
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2008
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2008
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2008
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2008
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2008
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2008
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2008
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2008
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2008
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
14-4'(W) x 8'(H) panels:entire artwork area
2009
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2009
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2009
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2009
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2009
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2009
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2009
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2009
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2009
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2009
collaborative civil engagement public art project with community by Joe LaMantia
Wood, Permanent Markers and Paint Sticks
2009

My way of working as a community artist has been both enriched and expanded through the public art experience. Creating art in a public space means stepping aside and observing all the ways in which people contribute. My work as a facilitator on projects during ArtsWeek, a two-week celebration of the arts in Bloomington, allowed me to do just that.

I was twice commissioned by Indiana University to create a graffiti project with the theme being Politics and the Arts. For the projects, I erected 4' x 8' panels and constructed white walls for students and people in the community to respond to politically charged questions. The first year, I asked participants “What is Democracy and What does Democracy look like?” The second year, after the 2008 election, I asked people to express their “Hopes and Dreams for an American Democracy.” Each day I watched in amazement as the boards became full of diverse ideas from a broad range of participants. No matter what was conveyed on the panel walls by each individual, it was perfect because it was a forum for expression as an open-ended dialogue among participants in the community.