IMOCA Community Art Initiative takes on the Englewood Project

Written by laadmin on . Posted in Blog.

If someone asked you to write a love letter to the world, what would it say? That’s what artists Kurt Gohde and Kremena Todorova asked Frank X Walker, NAACP Image Award winner, to do. They’re desire to create a global community through art, culminated through the “Love Letter To the World.”

The poem was broken up into 129 different phrases in Lexington, Kentucky, the project’s city of origin, 253 people received permanent tattoos of the phrases. These tattoos were photographed by Kurt and Kremena and used in a video that became the finished art piece. The poem is read as the images of the tattooed phrases appear on screen creating a beautiful mash up of mixed media art.

Tattoos were in 12 different languages creating a global artwork crossing 5 continents. The artistic collaboration has been exhibited in Boulder, Indianapolis, Lexington, Louisville, Oneonta, New York, San Antonio, and Venice Beach.

Wanting to bring the collaboration into other cities, Kurt and Kremena are working with the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art’s Community Art Initiative and the people of Indianapolis. The project is known in Indianapolis as the Englewood Project, paying homage to the local near-downtown neighborhood.

IMOCA is offering 130 people the choice of a phrase from the poem to receive a tattoo and another 130 people to create a cross-stitch pattern of the phrase. All tattoos and cross-stiches will then be photographed and included in a video-based mixed media artwork.
The final video will be displayed a community celebration hosted by IMOCA in early December. Two of the Landstory staff and family members are participating in this meaningful mutli-cultural project to pay honor to the earth. We encourage you to check it out!

Information about Love Letter To the World
Information about Kurt and Kremena
Information about The Englewood Project

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