Annalisa Barron
Visions of Public Art
Place Projectors: Reviving Public Space + Investing in People + Preserving the Past
Steel, glass, spotlight
“Place Projectors, a three-fold art initiative, creates cinematic site specific interactive sculptures made with light, shadow, steel and glass. The imagery of each projector is specific to an event and date that took place in their respective public spaces. The mission of this project is to reinvigorate a collective curiosity for considering people that have stood where we stand, what their lives were like, and how our actions, no matter how small, leave a permanent mark in time and place. Turning the crank of each sculpture or ‘projector’, is an invitation to revisit a moment rendered unchangeable by time and consider the potential of our presence within our own.
Place Projectors directly funds the preservation of public space and invests in the future of young artists that will remain and grow in a specific location. The content of each projected image will be sourced through the Rochester Historical Society. Young artists working locally will be hired and provided with professional training to both assist with the sculptures and the research needed for their content. Sponsors and patrons of Place Projectors will be provided with a project plan and a projected timeline that requires 25% of the total cost of each projector to be added to the overall budget. 12.5% will be used to pay assistants and pay for professional development workshops and 12.5% will be donated to the Rochester Historical Society. This percentage will remain and be adjusted accordingly throughout the project. If the overall project budget increases, the funding also increases for assistants and the Rochester Historical Society.”
Visions of Public Art was presented in 2019 as part of [Current Seen] Big Ideas. Small Venues.
Current Seen supports the region's growing contemporary art community by bringing new curatorial voices and new artists together near East Ave. and Main St. in Rochester, New York.
2019 Core Venues (Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Central Library of Rochester, Visual Studies Workshop, RIT City Art Space) and Framework Venues (galleries, community and alternative spaces, and pop-up venues) hosted curated exhibitions of local and national artists related to the general theme: our current moment / our changing city.
Building upon First Friday Rochester, Current Seen is intended to foster collaboration, help spaces achieve greater collective impact, celebrate the act of curation, and aid artists in reaching new expanded audiences. Programs include more than 20 exhibitions and events organized by both experienced and emerging curators spanning three generations. The lead organizer of Current Seen is Bleu Cease, Executive Director of Rochester Contemporary Art Center.