3/21 - 3/26 In Review

A bit of travel and a bit of discussion would sum up the week for us. Luckily, within our journeys, we gathered a large amount of post-worthy source material for you all. So, please enjoy some of it in the week to come.

Aside from a Northside Community Counsel meeting, Monday and Tuesday were used primarily for in house business. Calls were made, emails were sent out, and miscellaneous items like the writing the script for our video-promo were taken care of.

On Wednesday, things started getting more interesting when we met with Celene and Jarrett Hawkins about our upcoming kinetics exhibition "Movement!" The two seem to be extremely interested, so we're now anxiously awaiting their proposal.

Thursday brought parProjects back down to Northside, to attend the "Save The Pool" fundraiser ...which featured a local "Surf Band," Elementz Hip Hop Youth Arts Center, as well as talented music duo Agape Alive. Over $1,500 was raised to help keep the Northside Community Pool open, so we were delighted to be part of such tremendous energy. (A YouTube video of Agape Alive is below.)

Then Friday came along and it was off to Cleveland, OH to meet some wonderful people, take in some regional talent, enjoy some cutting edge architecture and visit one of the state's (if not the nations) best museums! But, more on the trip will populate the blog in the upcoming days, so I'll stop there.

In essence though, we absorbed a tremendous amount of positive energy this week, and look forward to some of the developments we were able to put into motion. We hope you shared some of the great luck (and sometimes staggering timing) with us this week, in regard to whatever passion drives you.

Relevant links include:
http://hawkinsandhawkins.biz/
http://elementz.org/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Agape-Alive/107092582660681

Cheers to the future,
 parProjects 

3/14 - 3/20 in review

In review, this week had a number of ups ...that kind of halted for us around the time of St. Patty's Day. (We apologize for our daily readers who were left longing for posts on Thursday and Friday).

For starters, the "Movement!" line-up has begun to take shape and a number of artists have been accepted so far. To date, artists will be participating from Florida, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Maryland, Michigan and Washington DC. Still, we've extended our proposal deadline for applications, due to the sheer interest that has been building with the exhibition. So, we'd officially like to send a respectful "Thank You!" to all of you who have helped spread the word about this exciting venture of ours.

Aside from the exhibition build up, we also had a few extremely important meetings regarding our community arts center and a couple other major Cincinnati projects this week...

3/11 - 3/17

The week started with a visit to the Clifton Town Meeting (http://www.cliftoncommunity.org) to observe some of the community's goings ons. Our kinetics project & exhibition will be based there, so it's important for us to involve those it will affect both directly and indirectly. We listened to some great presentations and let some of Clifton's community leaders know that we are, indeed, interest in helping build some creative solutions for them.

From there, as previously mentioned HERE (link), we met with both the CCAC and UC's DAAP Galleries to continue conversation about the "Movement!" exhibition slated for this June. Our roster continues to build with the exhibition, so we're excited to start sharing more of the talent that has agreed to be a part of the show.

Over the week, we also bounced out to DIY Studios (http://www.diyprintingshop.com/) to check out the movement Aaron has going on there. To all of the silk screen printers out there, this is a good place for you to work freely. Check them out when you have a chance. Seriously.

Our week started rounding out nicely with a trip to the Elementz (http://elementz.org/) fundraiser at the 20th Century theater.

Now it's Friday and we just left the opening of the Collector's Choice Exhibition down at FUNKe FIRED ARTS (http://www.funkefiredarts.com/). A visit to Brazee Street Studios (http://www.brazeestreetstudios.com/) and Country Club (http://www.countryclubprojects.com/) were enjoyed as well today.

We'll see you soon with some inspiration.

 parProjects 

2/28 - 3/4 in Review

This week started with good times and ended the same way for us.

Monday brought us to the monthly Northside Community Council meeting  (http://www.northside.net/NCC/index.php),  where the new board took their reigns. Congratulations all. We're sure you'll continue a fine tradition of leadership and positive influence.

Aside from that, we've primarily been in contact with our building/construction team hammering away at concerns dealing with the full mobility of our (proposed) arts & education center.

On Wednesday, things continued in the realm of positivity. We attended a meeting for Fuel Cincinnati (http://fuelcincinnati.org/) -- a local non-profit organization dedicated to funding projects created by young, driven individuals that support ideas revolving around community building, education, diversity and environmental concerns. And while this was a rather informal gathering, it was great to see what other young community leaders had to offer. Plus, the volunteers of Fuel Cincinnati carry with them tremendous amounts of positive energy. Please click the link above to get a better sense of who they are.

2/21 - 2/26 in Review

While it started off in a bit of a holiday/travel blur, thankfully this week wasn't quite as hectic as the previous two. Plus, Jonathan flew back into town on Tuesday,  so we've been able to hold meetings and take care of business as usual since.

Most notably, we met again with DAAP Galleries and further discussed the possibility of landing our shipping container gallery spaces throughout the campus of UC ...for the upcoming kinetics exhibition Movement. We've also started planning the budget for Movement and continued to research/locate possible artists for involvement. The thought of inviting regional, graduate program (MFA) teams has even been discussed, so we'll soon see if we have any takers here soon.

Aside from our meeting at DAAP, we sat for coffee with another, heavy-hitting, Cincinnati artist regarding his participation in the exhibition. He definitely seemed receptive, so our fingers are crossed in regards to him joining the talented group of exhibiting artists who have already been accepted for the exhibition.

Beyond in-person meetings, we were also in contact with representatives from the city this past week ....via telephone and email. And as of Thursday, our first-level, architectural floor-plans (pictured above) have been forwarded to some of the people who will eventually be in charge of helping get everything built here in Cincinnati. To say the least, this was a rather large step for us in the continuation with our building plans ...and a great way to cap off the week.

As developments continue to take shape, we'll naturally keep you posted. But, that's about it for now.

See you soon,
 parProjects 

2/7 - 2/18 in review.

As this is being typed from out of town, we'd easily conclude that we've had an extremely hectic two weeks. It's not so much that loads of work were completed in regards to The Road To Refresh; its more so that a lot has gone on behind the scenes with parProjects ...especially in regards to our upcoming kinetics exhibition (which is now "officially" on the CCAC's website HERE.)

If you were following, you know that last week we were off to DC in search of inspiration, artists and adventure. Behind the scenes though, we were packaging some of our fundraising ideas (for our proposed container structure) and solidifying further contacts to make it all happen. Thankfully, the interest continues to build. And please remember, downloadable DIY flyers to help spread interest can be found by clicking HERE or the image below.)

Also, to note: In the coming days, we'll be adding a way for you, our public, to sign up for daily email reminders, for when Pepsi voting begins (in April).

Since the top of this week, we've been solidifying how the promotion of "Movement!" will look, as well as solidifying more participating artists. And while our list is yet to be finalized, we can let you know some solid names have already signed on. [Excitement!]

Research on where the container-gallery-spaces will land has also been taking place. Also, as you may have read, a similar container art space has been located in northern Virginia ...and I hope to visit or speak with someone in regards to their project on Monday.

At any rate, I'll conclude here as the night is approaching. I will say though -- to all of the fellow night-time drivers -- "Watch out for kitchen sinks on Interstate 68 when driving through the mountains of West Virginia!" We had quite the snowy, scare and swerve around midnight a few days back.

 parProjects 

1/30 - 2/4 in Review

This week was more positive relationship building than anything else.

We started on Sunday meeting with an extremely talented Cincinnati artist, Alice Pixley Young (who happens to be featured in the Jan/Feb issue of Sculpture Magazine -- find one!). We'd been trying to catch up with Alice for a while. So, we were pleased to discuss the project with her and her husband Eric over Mexican cuisine and Margaritas. (Hooray Margaritas!) And through conversation, she's agreed to help us bounce ideas around in terms of educational components and general problem solving. For us, this was especially comforting because, as  mentioned, she's a great artist; but also, I personally think she'll do a great job influencing the camp's vibe as she contributes her ideas (and hopefully challenges some of ours). Go Packers!

Since Sunday, we've also had a couple of conversations with our architectural consultant concerning some floor plan logistics and ideas to raise the ceiling-height of the second gallery space. Fourteen foot ceilings sound good to you right?! We still have to consult with engineering about this. Regardless, some new releases will be heading this and your way soon.

We also wrapped up the week meeting with our business/planning consultant down at Happen Inc. This was primarily just a catch-up visit. But, we did agree that we'd like to create a few educational programming opportunities that can benefit the youth ...when working with Happen Inc. Still, I think the general consensus (amongst many) is to continue making Northside one of Cincinnati's art hubs/mainstays ...and to help one another along the way. Currently in Northside you can find Art on All Floors, Chase Public, Fabricate, Happen Inc., Prairie, Thunder-Sky and Visionaries & Voices. With that being said, we hope to be one of the bridges between the entities ...as our goals are similar, but not too much like another's. Plus, if built, our space will be available to these and other community organizations.

Beyond team and building details, we've also been figuring out some of the logistics for the upcoming kinetics show (at The Clifton Cultural Arts Center) this June. A number of artists have been accepted for the exhibition, so we're definitely looking forward to further submissions from you all. 

...Please tell the talented people you know!

The one snag of the week came when Pepsi announced on/by Tuesday that it will be postponing its March "Refresh" competition until April 1st. (But don't worry, as far as fundraising goes, our fine art silkscreen prints will be released soon enough ...for those of you who are anxious to support this project.) Regardless, we'll have an extra month to get our Pepsi Refresh voter team numbers up.

So we ask, have you mentioned us to anybody lately?

Relevant links include:

http://alicepixley.blogspot.com/

http://chasepublic.com/

http://www.cliftonculturalarts.org/

http://fabricatestore.wordpress.com/

http://www.happeninc.com/

http://www.pixleyart.com/

http://www.prairiecincinnati.com/

http://www.thunderskyinc.org/

http://www.visionariesandvoices.com/content/vv-home

Thanks again,

 parProjects 

1/24 - 1/28 in Review

This week was another one for the books. We presented our ideas further ...this time to a Development Officer of the city. We submitted some paper work to The University of Cincinnati in regards to our upcoming kinetics show ...and hope to continue working with UC's DAAP Galleries. We received a great initial 2' x 3' blueprint of our phase one structure. We stopped by this month's Northside Community Council meeting. And of course, we successfully finished week one of our new blog structuring.

Still, the most important aspect of the week was to remain focussed as we approach the oh-so-important month of February. On the 2/1/2011, it will officially be 4 weeks till Pepsi Refresh! This is where we'll need the support of the entire tri-state (and beyond) to win the popularity contest that, indeed, could land us the $50,000 needed to complete phase 1! For starters, we're trying to double our Facebook "likers," so please help spread the word.

We've officially started flyer-promoting our idea. So, now we'll offer you the ability to do the same. Got a Thumb Drive and a local FedEx Kinkos or Office Max??

If so, and you want to help spread the word, click HERE or anywhere on this paragraph to find the downloadable, double-sided PDF of our current  promotional flyer!  The front of it is pictured above.

By saving the above file, you can take it to your local printer and get your print on. We suggest a heavy card-stock, but if you want to just print on regular paper, go for it! Kinkos will even cut them for you ...just don't let them "shrink-to-fit" when printing!

Thanks for the help! More specifics and updates of all we started this week will launch soon!

 parProjects 

1/17 - 1/21 in review

This week has been action-packed to say the least. We've had a lot of positive meetings that have kept us navigating around town. We received some great, new, professional renderings from our architectural consultant (coming soon). But most importantly, we decided on the future structure of this blog ...and today marks the first day of fulfillment with our new plans.

For the most part, the upcoming kinetics show was the focus of our day-to-day. Last week our hub venue of The Clifton Cultural Arts Center was approved (for mid June - mid August), so we've been off to the races ever since.

This will without a doubt be our largest and most important undertaking to date, so we're doing as much early ground work as we can to make sure things run smoothly. Notably, we held meetings with the director of the CCAC and have started strategizing everything from the educational components we plan to offer alongside the show, down to potential sites around the city to host our satellite, shipping container gallery spaces. Today we even met with DAAP Galleries of UC to discuss the possibilities of landing a few container-spaces on the University of Cincinnati campus ...and while that idea is still in its infant stages, their was enough mutual excitement for us to remain hopeful.

Aside from that, we've simply been trudging away on the bigger project, the art center. We held a tele-conference with developers from the city and submitted a proposal for the prime real estate we mentioned HERE. We also continued with our poster-design/fundraising planning ...which we should have more to report on next week.

Also, as it's our hope that posts like this will keep you better abreast to where we're at as things move forward, we hope you let us know if they are not helping. Feedback on anything and everything we do is not just welcomed, it is greatly appreciated.

Till next time,
 parProjects