[CPEO-BIF] [Fwd: OACCE Announces First-Ever Temporary Public Art Commission]

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

(The Soil Kitchen art project will be implemented in conjunction with 
the National Brownfields Conference in Philadelphia April 3-5, 2011.)
From: 	Amy Franceschini <amy@futurefarmers.com>



January 6, 2011

Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy Commissions
FUTUREFARMERS for the City’s First-Ever Temporary Public Art Project

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Philadelphia – The Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy 
(OACCE) is pleased to announce the commissioning of a new temporary 
public art project by the artist group, Futurefarmers. This exciting new 
commission is the result of the OACCE’s plan to support an artist-driven 
project that reflects Mayor Michael Nutter’s Greenworks initiatives by 
addressing issues of sustainability specific to the urban environment. 
Implementation of Futurefarmers’ project will coincide with the 
Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Conference scheduled to 
take place in Philadelphia April 3-5, 2011.
Futurefarmers, founded in 1995 by Amy Franceschini, is a collective of 
artists and designers based in San Francisco, California. Their work 
explores a myriad of social and environmental issues by encouraging 
participation and interaction. Futurefarmers’ playful and accessible 
projects provide platforms for local communities to examine issues 
central to their lives. "We are thrilled to work with Futurefarmers, and 
such partners as the EPA and the Mayor's Office of Sustainability, 
bringing Philadelphia this important temporary public art project that 
demonstrates how the arts and artists can be a critical component in how 
we address our sustainability challenges."
-Gary Steuer, Chief Cultural Officer

Futurefarmers’ commissioned project for Philadelphia is called Soil 
Kitchen. Soil Kitchen will incorporate community involvement, naturally 
generated energy, local foods, food exchange, the creative reuse of a 
brownfield site, and brownfield mapping. This new site-specific public 
artwork will provide a stage for community interaction, dialogue, and 
education on topics of sustainability that impact every Philadelphian. 
The work will depend on the thoughts and actions of the people who 
engage with it. According to Amy Franceschini, “Soil Kitchen will 
provide sustenance, re-establish the value of natural resources through 
a trade economy, and inform people of possible hazards in their 
environment.” From a short-list of artists working in the field, 
Futurefarmers was chosen by an independent selection panel of artists, 
administrators and curators, as well as City officials. Superflex, an 
artist collective from Denmark, and Wowhaus, an artist team from 
California, also submitted proposals.
This project has been made possible through a generous grant from the 
William Penn Foundation.          
Follow the project at: www.soilkitchen.org <ttp://www.soilkitchen.org/%22>
The mission of the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy is 
to improve access to the arts for both residents and visitors; support 
the growth and development of the City’s arts, culture, and creative 
economy sector by promoting public and private investments; and serve as 
a liaison between the City’s many cultural institutions. In addition to 
the OACCE’s focus on the nonprofit arts sector, it also focuses on the 
many aspects of the larger arts and culture industry including 
individual artists, design industries, music clubs and other 
entertainment ventures.
To learn more about the OACCE visit www.phila.gov/arts 
<ttp://www.phila.gov/arts%22>

********

Theresa Rose
Public Art Project Manager
Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy
116 City Hall
Philadelphia, PA  19107
215.686.4593
www.phila.gov/publicart <ttp://www.phila.gov/publicart%22>


Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
Amy Franceschini  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
Futurefarmers  
499 Alabama Street, #114 San Francisco CA 94110  
ph/ fx 415.552.2124  
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . .  
http://www.futurefarmers.com/ <ttp://www.futurefarmers.com/%22>  
http://www.free-soil.org <ttp://www.free-soil.org/%22>  
http://www.antiwargame.org <ttp://www.antiwargame.org/%22>  
http://www.atlasmagazine.com/ <ttp://www.atlasmagazine.com/%22>  
http://www.theyrule.net <ttp://www.theyrule.net/%22>  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  



--


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org



_______________________________________________
Brownfields mailing list
Brownfields@lists.cpeo.org
http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/brownfields-cpeo.org