As we transition to our new Director Furusho von Puttkammer, we have asked our alums if they have any advice, memories, or thoughts they would like to share with AiOP. Terry Hardy, who is an artist alumni of Art in Odd Places 1996 (Atlanta) 2005; 2007; 2008: PEDESTRIAN; 2012: MODEL (St. Petersburg, Russia); 2013: NUMBER (Greensboro & Australia); 2015: RECALL; 2014: FREE (Indianapolis); 2015: TONE (Orlando); 2018: MATTER (Charlottesville) 2019: INVISIBLE, and friend of both AiOP Founder Ed Woodham and our new Executive Director Furusho von Puttkammer, wanted to share this:
1.There are many strong Art in Odd Places memories I recall but certainly the first AiOP in Manhattan in the East Village…2005? It was a much longer event that lasted 2 weeks and my project was “Draw Here” which involved placing posters on all the poles in the East Village. This involved daily walks of all the East Village to collect or reposter the poles. There was an encounter with Police within the first hour… things became even more interesting.
It was an amazing project which produced 280 drawings over the course of the 2 weeks. Many of these posters could not be considered historical documents as they were also postered with stickers/labels from various organizations and establishments that no longer exist. All representing a time and place in the ever changing East Village.
I will be donating these posters, as well as a map of collection sites, to AiOP later this year for the archives.
2.Ed has been doing this festival since 1996. Thousands have benefited from these festivals. Many of us have been given the opportunities to travel to different cities and produce projects that would have otherwise never been realized. It will be interesting to see how AiOP continues to evolve. I look forward to witnessing this evolution.
I do hope Ed will take advantage of a bit less stress and focus on his own personal work.
3.Furusho has been handed an art event/festival that has been decades in the making. An organization that has changed the lives of many and will change the lives of many more moving forward.
4.My advice for Furusho regarding AiOP would be to be flexible yet firm.
Artists are their own special breed…some will be overly organized and on time while others will work every nerve until the last minute. Do not be afraid to “power up” when necessary. Stick to the rules and protocol and expect others to do the same.
