I am happy to announce that I have been selected for the City of Sacramento’s new Artist-in-Residence Program in Spring 2020. I will be working with community participants to create an outdoor public art installation at Sojourner Truth Community Garden in the Green Haven Pocket area of Sacramento. My project will begin in March, 2020, and the schedule of activities and other information and continuing photos of the project will be posted on this Blog.

Sacramento AIR, the City’s new Artists-in-Residence pilot program, is a collaboration between Sacramento Metro Arts and the Department of Youth, Parks & Community Enrichment. Nine artists have been chosen to work together with City staff and communities to co-design a residency that will culminate in at least eight distinct projects, one in each city council district. Sacramento AIR is designed for artists and communities to collaborate at the intersection of community building and art, exploring and reframing the ways in which we use our public space and the interactions that take place there. Artists will be in residence for five to six months, activating community centers, community gardens, and the 28th and B Skate Park. Residencies will include drumming, spoken word, visual arts, hip hop, technology, environmental art, music and theater, and be tailored to children, youth adults, and/or seniors, depending on the interests and needs of the community center. Each residency will conclude with an onsite celebratory event, which can take the form of a performance, exhibition, project unveiling or community festival.

The Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission website at http://www.sacmetroarts.org/Programs/Sacramento-AIR will also have additional information about the AIR program and my work in the Sojourner Truth Community Garden.

Here is the blurb from the Sacramento Metro Arts website about my artwork

Jane makes art that is in harmony with nature and encourages public awareness of environmental and social issues by involving people as participants and partners in the process. She uses all natural and biodegradable materials such as handmade paper she makes from local plant waste materials and local seeds to produce continually evolving artworks. Over time the handmade paper dissolves as compost to nourish the earth, and the seeds sprout and grow to produce food and habitat for wildlife. The sculptural structures last for years until they too disappear as compost. She sets up a working papermaking studio and works with people in the community to design an art installation that suits the place and time and with suggestions and sketches from the community participants. She will work with the gardeners at Sojourner Truth Community Garden to choose the flower seeds to use in the art project according to the colors and type of wildflowers that will be easy to grow in this place and get advice from the local gardeners about growing conditions and requirements.

This photo shows my sculpture installation “Living Quilt for Santa Rosa” installed at Rincon Ridge Park in Santa Rosa in November 2018 with a grant from the City of Santa Rosa.