COMMUNITY. IDENTITY. ENDURANCE. MERIT. PERCEPTION.
AiOP 2022: STORY
“Obstacles are put in our way, not to stop us, but to call out our courage and strength.” ― Unknown
Today, public personal merit is based on the number of followers on social media – and relevance changes with the shifting weather. True identity and community are where words are genuinely heard, truths shared, stories told, and perceptions possibly changed. Is it feasible to change others’ perceptions?
Finding meaning in life is a collective universal truth. The pursuit of meaning can be lost in the static of the passionate necessity to search.
One’s narrative writes itself. Every insurmountable obstacle, laugh, devastation, tear, scar, heartbreak, familiarity, and inexperience is a chapter. If executed with fearless honesty and mindful intent – change is possible. Will the story of your existence endure the test of time?
Art in Odd Places(AiOP) 2022: STORY is scheduled for September 23-25, 2022, curated by Jessica Elaine Blinkhorn for its seventeenth annual public visual and performance art festival taking place along 14th Street in Manhattan, NY – from Avenue C to the Hudson River.
Jessica Elain Blinkhorn, Who Am I Who Are You?
ABOUT THE CURATOR: Jessica Elaine Blinkhorn was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy very young. The muscle wasting disease has left her as a wheelchair user but she uses living with a disability to inform her work and educate society about differences. She began to explore Performance Art in Graduate School to assist with creating and constructing a social narrative to promote change, equity, and inclusion. She has been featured on ABC World News(2010), was the subject of the award-winning documentary short “Grounded by Reality”(2010), and has received grants from Change, Inc., FL(2012), Artist Fellowship Grant, NY(2013, 2014, 2015, 2021), Foundation for the Contemporary Arts, NY(2018, 2020, 2021), C4 Atlanta, GA(2020). Blinkhorn is an AiOP veteran(2018, 2021) and most recently, was named a Franklin Furnace Awardee, NY(2019-20), Artist in Residence at the Momentary, AR(2020), Artist in Residence for the Paseo Project, NM(2021), Atlanta BeltLine Artist, GA(2021-22), and an ELEVATE Artist, GA(2021).
Art in Odd Places, founded by NYC artist Ed Woodham and led by Executive Director Furusho von Puttkammer, aims to stretch the boundaries of communication in the public realm by presenting artworks in all disciplines outside the confines of traditional public space regulations. AiOP reminds us that public spaces function as the epicenter for diverse social interactions and the unfettered exchange of ideas.
Art in Odd Places is fiscally sponsored by GOH Productions, and supported, in part, by public funds from New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and private donors.