December 2, 2011
Intersection for the Arts is partnering with Forest City Development on its downtown San Francisco 5M Project— a thriving two-year old prototype community of 2,000 entrepreneurs, technology companies, artists and makers that are building the creative economy. Using art to instigate economic and community change, Intersection’s programs include creative collaboration and problem-solving involving large scale public art, arts-based community engagement, artist residencies, cultural entrepreneurship fellowships, and resource-matching.
Intersection for the Arts continues its exploration in placemaking with the opening of its new visual arts exhibition, Here Be Dragons: Mapping Information and Imagination. This group exhibition features artists who utilize the tools, language, and strategies of mapping to distill and interpret large quantities of information and data, while also imaginatively envisioning place through charting stories, history, emotion, and ideas.
Wendy McNaughton, one of the artists in the exhibition, creates a new series of portraits of people living and working in the neighborhood of 5th and Mission Streets, where Intersection is located, with corresponding psychological and physical maps.
In this short video clip, she details her process and talks about her experience engaging with the diverse populations in the community.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kMnIuKJTr1s
There is also a great digital narrative of her account of the neighborhood that can be found here:http://therumpus.net/2011/11/meanwhile-6th-and-mission/