Welcome to ELAN’s Blog Salon! All week we’ll be featuring articles from ELAN members around the theme of “My Life in Art”. Members will talk about their lives as artists, arts administrators and arts supporters.
Next we get to hear from ELAN alumni Jamie Walsh on how she brought art into her life by facilitating “So Small: A miniature art show”. Find out below how you can too!
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After years of personal research examining the appeal of things that are miniature, my conclusion is that they are adorable and fun!
Setting unique parameters for an exhibition and seeing the creativity that forms within those parameters is an exciting process. Opening up an arts experience to a community of people is even more exciting and creates a body of work that is naturally connected. I facilitated the first “So Small: A miniature art show” exhibition as a graduate student in the Arts Administration Department at the University of Oregon in March of 2013. The process started with an open call for miniature artwork to the entire community of Eugene. It was a way for me to gain facilitation and exhibitions skills and also engage with the local arts community. In the end, So Small had over 40 submission of miniature artwork. We had an opening exhibition at the Janet Smith Coop, turning a room in their home into a one-night gallery space, along with tiny prizes, tiny foods, and tiny drinks. The exhibition later went on to the Buzz Gallery located on the UO campus for a month-long showing.
I graduated the following June and now work as the coordinator for Oregon Supported Living Program’s Arts & Culture Program. We are an inclusive community arts program that offers an array of weekly workshops to individuals of all abilities. Part of our mission is to make sure that our arts programming is accessible to everyone in the community, including financial accessibility. Since starting here, I’ve realized the need for creating a scholarship program in order to increase this particular accessibility. What better way to raise funds for a community arts program than with a community involved arts event!? Because So Small was such a fun success, I’ve decided to organize So Small 2 as a fundraiser for the OSLP Arts & Culture Program. With the help of some Arts Administration friends (Mary Morgan, Danielle Walter, Michele Sinclair, and Maya Munoz-Tobon) we are planning the second “So Small: A miniature art show” event for May 24th, 2014 at The Lincoln Gallery of the OSLP Arts & Culture Program. So Small 2 will be a silent auction to raise funds for the Arts & Culture Scholarship Fund. We are hoping for an even larger reach this time around. There have already been a few mail-in submissions from California and Chicago!
Submissions for So Small 2 are due by May 10th (either mailed to or dropped off at the OSLP Arts & Culture Program). For more information please visit: www.artsandcultureeugene.org
