Nationally Touring Lecture:
The Power of Art:
Building Creative Capital Through Community Mosaics
Community Mosaic Projects in the US, Africa and Haiti
Presented by Laurel True
Dates and locations listed below
This lecture is a fundraiser for the Mosaic Artwork Fund for Mirebalais Hospital, Haiti. Mirebalais Hospital is being built by Partners In Health and will bring much needed healthcare to Haiti’s central region.
“Not all places and people have financial capital, but everyone has creative capital.”
During this inspiring presentation, longtime community mosaic artist Laurel True will talk abut and present images of some of the numerous community mosaic projects she has facilitated nationally and internationally over the last 18 years in the US, Kenya, Ghana and Haiti. This lecture presentation showcases the power of art and how community mosaic making can transform lives and environments.
Project documentation from a variety of projects will highlight both the community process and resulting projects. Laurel's process working with community ranges from renegade street art to organized programming through schools and community centers. She partners with organizations to develop unique projects that reflect the individuals who create them as well as the communities that surround them.
Through community supported fundraising, Laurel has been able to teach and train hundreds of project participants including youth, adults, trades people and teachers in mosaic techniques.
Her efforts have brought arts education and entrepreneurial training to under-served communities in urban and developing areas. These projects foster creative expression, teamwork, neighborhood beautification and community development through community - based art.
Laurel will talk about the short and long-term effects of projects in public spaces and share her development plans for her upcoming projects with Partners In Health which include the creation of a series of mosaic installations for a new hospital they are building in Haiti.
These projects will bring mosaic public art to the hospital and train Haitian trades people in architectural mosaic making techniques.
Upcoming Dates:
Thursday, October 13, 2011 - Madison, WI
Hosted by The Wil- Mar Neighborhood Center
Free and open to the public
Photo:Laurel with youth at Steiner School in Mbagathi, Kenya
Friday, October 21, 2011 - Solana Beach, CA
Hosted by Carruth Cellars Urban Winery
Reception 5:30
Lecture: 6 pm
Photo:Laurel with students from Mosaic Mural Making intensive, Institute of Mosaic Art
Photo:Laurel with young artists from Art Creation Foundation For Children in Jacmel, Haiti
Past dates:
May 20, 2011 - New Orleans, LA
June 10, 2011 - Charlotte, NC
July 22, 2011- Seattle, WA
July 29, 2011 - Oakland, CA
Photo:Laurel working with community at
Sycamore Park, Mill Valley, CA
* Laurel True is a public artist, educator and community organizer specializing in large-scale and site- specific mosaic projects. Her projects are focused mainly in urban and developing areas and she is committed to fostering arts education and entrepreneurship both in and out of the classroom. True is co-founder of the Institute of Mosaic Art in California and has lectured and taught internationally. Her work has been featured in independent and mainstream media, books and publications. She has created and facilitated over a hundred projects over the last 20 years. She is a member of the Community Built Association, the Society of American Mosaic Artists and Americans for the Arts.
