Friday, December 29, 2017

"Symbols and Storytelling" Grant Award in 2018, Part 1

Deborah and Glenn Doering, co-directors of DOEprojekts, are pleased to announce that we have been awarded a 2018 teaching grant by SU-CASA, one of the funding divisions of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC).

The grant will fund 20 weeks of 2-hour workshops titled "Symbols and Storytelling." In the workshops we will use our Coreforms and Keywords as points-of-departure and invitations-to-interact in order to explore participant's personal connections to contemporary cultural concepts.



LMCC has assigned us to the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House (lenoxhill.org) organization. We will be working with participants at the Saint Peters Church location in Midtown East. We are extremely excited to be a part of the socially-engaged missions of SU-CASA, LMCC and Lenox Hill! Our "Symbols and Storytelling" workshops will draw upon many global systems of symbol-making, dating back to the Stone Age and progressing through our contemporary symbols.



A Review of 2017
DOEprojekts had a very full year of artistic activity and social engagement in 2017:
• Artistically supported and participated in the 2017 Women's March in NYC
• "Migrations" solo exhibition at the Sheen Center, NoHo, NYC
• Teaching residency at the Grunewald Guild, Plain, WA 
• Teaching residency at Holden Village, Lake Chelan, WA 
• "HOME(less)" at Hebrew Union College Museum, NYC (on display until June 2018) 
CENTRAL BOOKING, group exhibition, December 2017
• Initiated "Manhattan Micro-Apartment Artist Residency" for two practicing artists, Professor Ying Kit Chan (Univ of Louisville) and Australian painter Tyrone Layne.
Beekman School art teaching (Deborah) and YourBusinessAssistantPlus.com (Glenn)



Goals for 2018
• Support creative communities such as Lenox Hill Neighborhood House. These communities are often located in houses of worship, such as Saint Peters Church and the Metro Baptist Church
• Continue to develop "space resources" for artists and others who benefit from creative space 
• Work with new forms and build upon our Coreforms and Keywords, with an emphasis on interrogating growing economic inequalities between people and communities in the USA   

We thank all of you who have supported our journey to date and we wish you a healthy and happy 2018. Keep in touch! Let us know if you will be in the Manhattan area in 2018.
Please follow us and "Like Us" on Social Media:

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Intentional Artist Communities, Part 2 — Creative Social Engagement at Holden Village

We, Deborah and Glenn Doering, DOEprojekts, participated in two intentional artist communities in July/August 2017.  The first, the Grünewald Guild in Plain, WA, is an artist community we have been involved in since the 1990s. (See our blog post of Sept 2, 2017.) The second is Holden Village in Chelan, Washington State. (Photos by Jim M. Wilkerson and Deborah/Glenn Doering)

Holden Village is in some ways, the "older sibling" of the Grünewald Guild. Through the Guild, we have met many people from Holden Village, but this was our first opportunity to participate. Holden is quite remote, with little access to internet or cell phone service — access is by boat (and then a short, steep, 9-switch-back bus ride) or by hiking over the mountains. Deer and other wildlife are abundant.

Artist-directors Peg Carlson-Hoffman and Chuck Hoffman, invited us — as DOEprojekts — to be Artists in Residence from July 23 to Aug 12, 2017, creating "artifacts" and "experiences" that engage all levels and ages at Holden Village.

Holden Village's mission includes themes such as Hospitality, Diversity, Ecology, Gifts/Imagination, Study, Rest, Place, Theology -- and Hilarity! Despite the heaviness and seriousness of the state of our world, at times it is best to take a break and, well, laugh!

Our experience at Holden was that of a very open and welcoming environment. The village is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA). Yet, we met people of a variety of spiritual traditions, as well as people of "no faith." An active LGBTQ+ community is present. There was a diversity of races and cultures in the village, and the community will continue to grow in diversity in the future. Many of the study groups and lecture sessions concerned current racial tensions in the USA, "white privilege," and paths to greater equity between the "haves" and the "have nots."  Village staff members facilitated the discussion of difficult and controversial cultural topics.

Our DOEprojekts' artistic work prior to coming to Holden Village included designing a "Coreforms Quilt." We designed the quilt with 4 letters that can be rearranged to convey cultural concerns: C-A-R-E,  R-A-C-E, and A-C-R-E (land, ecology). In addition to the letters, the quilt design features our DOEprojekts' "Hybr" and "Hybrdeux" forms, often visually associated with "winged seeds" and "musical notes" — but these images are open to many interpretations, as are the Coreforms.

Our Coreforms (zero, one, hyphen, tilde, period) are also featured prominently in the design of custom printed fabric and and appliqué. Holden community member Trudy Arnold, an experienced artist and quilt maker, collaborated on the design and production. Trudy directed the community participation which included countless hours of hand-stitching during the time that she and we were Artists in Residence. 


In addition to working on the hand-stitching with Trudy and others, DOEprojekts installed their "Migrations" stencils in the dining hall. These Coreform stencils had been a part of the "Migrations" installation at the Sheen Center in NYC (see our blog posts earlier this year). The stencils prompted many conversations about our socially-engaged art, and the cultural keyword "migrations."

DOEprojekts also worked with Holden Village teenagers to create a "land art" installation using Coreforms and other archetypal forms that Peg and Chuck use in their art workshops. These forms include the circle, square, triangle, equilateral cross, and spiral. 

DOEprojekts presented their work in various study sessions during their time at Holden -- and we were also assigned to the "Dish Team" once each week! 
Holden has a long tradition of community and social engagement, reaching back to the "culture wars" of the 1960s and 70s. Ecological care for the village, a former copper mining town, continues through the present, with many systems in place, including an ongoing "remediation" of the land.
If you would like to explore visiting Holden Village, begin by reading their website: www.HoldenVillage.org.  We would be very happy to tell you more about the positive experiences we had as Artists in Residence at Holden! Contact us at DOEprojekts@gmail.com.

Intentional Artist Community in New York City

While we were working in intentional communities in the Pacific Northwest USA, there were two artists working in our micro "live-work space" apartment in Midtown Manhattan. This was our first "Manhattan Micro Apartment Artist Residency" and each artist that we selected lived and worked in our apartment for 30 days.

First, we were happy to host multimedia artist and Professor of Art at the University of Louisville, Ying Kit Chan. Professor Chan's work may be seen on his website, www.YingKitChan.com


Second, we were pleased to host Tyrone Layne, international painter currently based in New Zealand. Tyrone sent us a photo of the painting he worked on in our apartment. More of his work may be seen at www.TyroneLayne.com

The end of the summer of 2017 draws near. We have now returned to NYC. We are more committed than ever to creating "intentional community" wherever we find ourselves. We will endeavor to use what we have learned in these intentional communities to contribute to a more just, open, accepting, and creative society.
And, as always, we look forward to hearing from you! 
Please follow us and "Like Us" on Social Media:
www.DOEprojekts.com 

Saturday, September 2, 2017

Social Engagement — Teaching and Living with Others in Intentional Artists' Communities, Part 1

What is intentional community?  There is no singular definition, so it is difficult to generalize. But perhaps the common element among intentional communities is to manifest a focus, or concern, of the community, and then live and work to make that focus/concern a priority among the people living in the community. Intentional communities are usually bound by a certain location; the members generally live and work in close proximity to one another and share resources such as land, housing and food.

The focus of the Grünewald Guild in Plain, WA, is "Art + Faith + Community." The "Guild" was founded in 1980 by Richard and Liz Caemmerer. Rich Caemmerer (1934 - 2016) was the son of a Lutheran theologian, an art professor at Valparaiso University, a husband and father of 4 children, and a widely-recognized visual artist -- all these life experiences, and more, contributed to Richard's vision for an intentional artists community that eventually became the Grünewald Guild.
Deborah and Glenn, DOEprojekts, first visited the Grünewald Guild in the early 1990's, and both have lived and taught classes there at various times. This summer, Glenn taught basic jewelry design and Deborah taught a workshop on Coreforms. 


What we appreciate about the intentional arts community at the Guild is its members' welcoming and encouraging attitude in relationship to artistic creation, community formation, and spiritual exploration. All levels of "makers" are welcome, both the beginner and the advanced. People of any faith, or no faith, are welcome at the Guild. Persons of every race and sexual orientation are welcome. 


Each person is invited, and also expected, to make contributions to the community — these contributions range from keeping the Guild environment ecologically healthy, to teaching art classes/workshops, to facilitating hikes or meditations, as well as other community activities.

For more information about intentional community at the Grünewald Guild, click here.

Our next blog post will continue our exploration of intentional communities. Please keep in touch with us through email, DOEprojekts@gmail.com, or through DOEprojekts' social media pages! Thank you for your interest!

Sunday, May 21, 2017

Lights, Camera, Action! LED-sign Workshop, Counter-Commencement Culture, and Coreform Quilt

DOEprojekts (Deborah Adams Doering and Glenn N. Doering) created their "hybr" coreform-ideogram in light at an LED protest sign workshop, led by artist-educator-equalist Todd Drake at the Beam Center, Brooklyn, NYC. The "hybr" is a hopeful form that is often associated with nature's winged samara seed and/or a musical note. More about corefoms may be found at DOEprojekts.org.








The workshop provided space and support for artists and other community members to create powerful visual messages to use at various sites of protest and progressive solidarity.

Soon after the April 30th Beam Center workshop, DOEprojekts used their hybr light sign as part of the "Counter-Commencement" ceremony and demonstration held at the Whitney Museum of American Art on Friday, May 5.  The "Counter-Commencement" took place in front of the "Debtfair" installation, part of the 2017 Whitney Biennial; these art actions expose the gross amount monetary speculation and debt that many students, regardless of age, assume when they pursue higher education in the USA. More about Counter-Commencement and Debtfair can be found in Hyperallergic online and also Debtfair.org.







Art activism can be found not only in urban museums, but also rural communities. DOEprojekts will be artists in residence at Holden Village, Chelan, WA, this summer. 

In preparation for their visit, Deborah and Glenn are pleased to be collaborating with professional artist-quilter, Trudy Arnold. Trudy sent photos documenting her process in planning, compiling and assembling our contemporary collaborative "Hybr Quilt." 


We look forward to working with Trudy, and also Holden directors and artists Chuck Hoffman and Peg Carlson-Hoffman, as well as the entire Holden Village community!
  
And, as always, we look forward to hearing from you! 
Please follow us and "Like Us" on Social Media:

Sunday, April 16, 2017

Talk, Listen, Participate at the Sheen Center -- and the Whitney Biennial

"Migrations," a multimedia, participatory installation by DOEprojekts (Deborah Adams Doering and Glenn N. Doering), engaged several hundred people over the course of its 7-week run at the Sheen Center for Thought and Culture, NYC. We thank all who participated and supported the project during the 15-month development, 5-day installation, Opening Reception, Artist Talks, and de-installation. The installation explored and interrogated the timely cultural keyword "migrations" through artifacts such as monoprints, stencils, wax rubbings, and elaborate tapestries/embroideries. The latter were made in collaboration with the skilled artists/artisans of Savane Kigali in Rwanda, and Pax Rwanda/Juliana Meehan. 



Throughout the 7-week installation/exhibition, people of all ages and from all walks of life were engaged through not only looking at and touching the artifacts, but also through talking, listening, and participation. 



Many people brought their children (more than once). Artists brought their own supplies in order to created unique interpretations of the "migrations" theme. DOEprojekts' Coreforms, the formal basis of each artifact, formed a migratory "path" around the perimeter of the gallery. (More about Coreforms may be found here.)

Many people posted their participation, and the artifacts created and found, on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms! Thank you to all who helped get the word out about our work, especially the tapestries/embroideries by the Rwandan women's art collective. If you know of anyone who would like to support upcoming collaborations with these talented women, please contact us at DOEprojekts@gmail.com.

Looking toward the future, DOEprojekts is pleased to announce that we are included in a group installation at the 2017 Whitney Biennial — the installation is called "Debtfair," part of Occupy Museums. Look for our "Hot Buttons: Artist • Agitator • Activist" image (below, on t-shirts and flat screen at the exhibition) when you attend the Whitney Biennial, on view through June 11, 2017 at the Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC.


If you have any questions about our work or would like to host one of our many participatory events, please contact us at DOEprojekts@gmail.com.
We look forward to hearing from you! 
Please follow us and "Like Us" on Social Media:

Monday, February 27, 2017

"Migrations" opens at Sheen Center, NYC

DOEprojekts (Deborah Adams Doering & Glenn N. Doering) opened their newest installation titled Migrations, on Thursday, February 23, 2017, at the Sheen Center Gallery, 18 Bleecker Street, NYC. The exhibition continues through Sunday April 9, 2017. The installation explores, interprets, and interrogates the timely cultural keyword "migrations" through the use of the Doerings' visual Coreforms (more about Coreforms may be found here.) The installation offers visitors opportunities to create their own coreform-related "Migration Rubbings" from unique hand cut stencils hanging on the gallery walls.

The Migrations exhibition features several recent print works, including the 130" x 60" Global Waving series. Essayist Allison C. Meier writes "... DOEprojekts' Global Waving warps flag iconography into migratory forms. Using the coreforms as these primal symbols, and turning each flag into an elongated triangle, DOEprojekts involves its audience in building new identities from the fragments. Recognizable icons of national identity are suddenly displaced, rearranged, and reconsidered. Instead of geopolitical meaning, the flags become unstuck from their time and place."

In another part of the installation, the "Migrations Maps" are designed by DOEprojekts and stitched by members of the Rwandan women's art/craft collectives called Savane Kabuye and Savane Kigali. These collectives include women from both sides of the bloody 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis. Educator Juliana Meehan's Pax Rwanda exhibition inspired and connected DOEprojekts to the women's collectives in early 2016. The five "Migrations Maps" were begun in April 2016 and finished just before the beginning of 2017. We are grateful to Pax Rwanda/Juliana Meehan and also the extraordinary women of Savane Kabuye & Kigali, who express in real life, one of the most basic conceptual ideas linked to the Coreforms -- that "opposites" (or those who find themselves on opposite sides of a division) are, in fact, not opposite at all, they can be seen as united, when one changes one's perspective.

The movement/migration of the Coreforms are seen in several other works in the Migrations installation, including the "Migrations Stencils" and "Hot Button" prints. As Meier writes "The 'Hot Buttons' hand-cut stencil and print works visualize the various ways a person can be defined when passing between oscillating borders; expatriate; immigrant; refugee; evacuee; displaced person; alien. Another reads: pilgrim; colonist; pioneer. And yet another reads: artist; agitator; activist. While all these words are familiar, and likely evoke some image in the imagination, seeing them linked together asks for a reevaluation of which we consider synonyms, and which secluded states of being. And turning the words into objects reduces some of that labeling power."

DOEprojekts is very pleased to reduce "labeling power" in our current cultural era.

If you have any questions about our exhibition or would like to reserve your space at one of our participatory events, please contact us at DOEprojekts@gmail.com.
We look forward to hearing from you! 
Please follow us and "Like Us" on Social Media: