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San Joaquin Valley Farm Town Inspires Urban Art Students (and Vice Versa)

Posted on: Thursday, 5 March 2009, 10:18 CST

Los Angeles-based Otis College Creates Public Art Together with Residents of Laton, CA

Laton LIVE! on March 21 To Showcase Creative Collaboration

LOS ANGELES, March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- A small farming community in the San Joaquin Valley is the focus of a multidisciplinary art and design project developed by Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. Laton, California will be the subject of a unique art installation - celebrating the town and its residents - premiering on March 21, 2009.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090305/LA78464)

Led by Suzanne Lacy, noted artist, author and Chair of the Otis College Graduate Public Practice program, and former resident Consuelo Velasco, Otis students traveled to Laton in August 2008 to explore how art could support local agendas and contribute to the small and struggling rural community. The San Joaquin Valley is known for having some of the highest poverty and school drop-out rates in the nation, as well as poor air quality.

Otis students accustomed to life in a large metropolitan area found themselves examining global problems in an unfamiliar rural setting. "This is an immersion course leading our students to a consideration of the cultural, economic and identity issues in one of the most misunderstood and 'invisible' areas of the Golden State," said Samuel Hoi, President of Otis College of Art and Design.

Working with Laton residents (population 1,200), local organizations, and public schools, Otis students and faculty identified two important concerns: supporting youth in civic engagement, and building community pride. The collaboration resulted in art projects that will soon be seen all over town, including:

Signs of Welcome - Otis students learned that the Welcome to Laton sign had been removed by vandals, so they set to work designing a new sign, now under construction by high school students.

Painting the Town - Student muralists decided to literally paint the town. Local merchants are cooperating in the colorful "face lift," all done by volunteer labor in exchange for coupons redeemable at another artist/community project, the Laton Free Store.

The Town is a Stage - "If there is a blank wall on the main street, expect it to be alive with large scale scenes of Laton life, from dancing to cooking, working to welcoming," says Kate Johnson, Otis faculty member and video producer who is working with students on a site-specific installation.

The culmination of this public practice project is a free, one-time art event, Laton LIVE!, to be held at sundown on March 21, 2009. Laton's main street will be closed to traffic, and the two-block long downtown will be transformed with lights, live music, art displays and food, including a local favorite - grilled Portuguese sausage. In addition, the Lions Club will sell tickets to the Laton Rodeo, and the all-volunteer fire department will celebrate its 100 Year Anniversary.

"In the face of the Wall Street meltdown, the help-your-neighbor values of rural life and the resiliency of local Main Streets gives us hope," says Lacy of the project. "Through programs like this, students learn how to address complex social relationships," adds Otis student Nathalie Sanchez. "After all, creativity is an important part of community development."

Otis Connects: San Joaquin Valley is part of Otis College's Public Practice Graduate Program and the Integrated Learning Program. The San Joaquin Valley project has been partially funded by a planning grant from the Ford Foundation. More information is available at www.otis.edu with video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-tQ5AZd7hs

Press: Sheri Mobley (323) 668-0874 smobley@mobleymarketing.com

SOURCE Otis College of Art and Design

Source: PR Newswire

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