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Join the artists of Here Today as they kick-off one month of temporary public art projects

in downtown Olympia! From visual art to music, performance art to literature, the work of these local artists celebrate a sense of place through reflection and response to our physical and social environment. All the exhibition dates vary, and some of the projects involve components that move, so the element of surprise and discovery is part of the fun!

Check out the following activities taking place at the Olympia Farmers Market on Saturday, August 2:

• 10-Noon Community plate decorating with Bil Fleming. Plates will be used in his project Performance Dishwashing, taking place at the Farmers Market on August 15.
• 11am-Noon The Waterfront Public Art Tour will leave at 11am from the bell at the south side of the market, including stops at Leaf and Twig by Dana Squires and Would it Be by George Kurzman, with discussion by the artists, during the Tour's regular route.
• Noon Writer Tony Perkins gives away several copies of his chapbook Like Everyone Else to several lucky Market Patrons in advance of the August 16th public reading at Yashiro Japanese Garden.
• 1-2pm Meet at the bell on the south side of the market at 1pm with Jenn Kliese and Jeff Shannon, for a tour of their two-week music installation Bus Station.
• 1-3pm Create ceramic birds with Trudes Tango, to be used in her project A Bird in the Hand: Lessons in Letting Go.
• 2-3pm Join Faith Hagenhofer at 2pm for a tour of her project, Rising Tides. Meet at the bell on the south side of the market.

Here Today Temporary Public Art Project is presented by the City of Olympia Arts Commission and Olympia Parks, Arts & Recreation Department, with promotional support from MIXX96fm and Intercity Transit. Special thanks to the Olympia Farmers Market.

photo by enpen
mouseover photo by enpen

"Here Today" Temporary Public Art Project returns for the month of August! Eight physical and time-based projects by nine local artists will appear on the streets and in the public spaces of downtown Olympia from August 1-31. Project artists include Bil Fleming, Faith Hagenhofer, Jenn Kliese, George Kurzman, Shaw Osha, Tony Perkins, Jeff Shannon, Dana Squires and Trudes Tango. From visual art to music, performance art to literature, the work of these local artists celebrate a sense of place through reflection and response to our physical and social environment. All the exhibition dates vary, and some of the projects involve components that move, so the element of surprise and discovery is part of the fun! Only in downtown Olympia, and only for one month, plan your August around Public ART!

A Project Kick-Off is planned for Saturday, August 2nd at the Olympia Farmers Market.

The schedule follows:

I've been compelled by a woman I shall only identify as Mistress "K" to photograph, and reveal to the reader, these strange installations. Or donations. Or something. We're not entirely sure what they are. I'm told that they appear, and disappear, in front of this restaurant from time to time. Who knows what they mean? Is that one with the raised fist missing in the later photo, or is she on a mission to seek out the Kahlua Cream pie? I would have sent the king, myself. Or the radio. Fnord.

I'm not entirely sure I want the mystery solved, though. I just wanted to share the photos. And satisfy Mistress "K." Which is why, at the end of posting this, I hit a button marked "SUBMIT." And I smile.

From the press release:

Artists Sought to Spruce Up Downtown Benches

A downtown Olympia group is inviting area artists to submit designs to artistically enhance existing benches in downtown Olympia. The PBIA (Parking & Business Improvement Area) will be selecting up to five artists for the project, which is designed to add artistic interest to the streetscape of downtown Olympia, engage the local arts community in a downtown project, and create a more inviting, welcoming atmosphere to downtown. Each artist will receive an honorarium of $1000 plus up to $500 for materials.

For those of you who don't know, I advocate for the idea of our built landscape as an interactive tool for our artists. This Monday (March 3) I will be talking about some aspects of the movement as a part of the Arts Roundtable series held at our downtown library. My desire is to see Olympia help its artists realize our city. I am daily amazed at the amount of artistic talent coursing through Olympia and I think creating our city's expression is integral to establishing our identity as we move toward a further development of our downtown core. Art often treads the fine line between disgust and heart stopping. Art is not just like every other city. Art is not homogeneous.

I've decided to pre-publish the slide show on OlyBlog that I've created for the presentation. This is for those of you who are interested but cannot attend, or those who like to see the outline without the fill.

Eight proposals for temporary public art projects to be completed in downtown Olympia from August 1-31, 2008 will be on display from February 11-22, 2008 at The Olympia Center, 222 Columbia St NW. The goals for the art project "Here Today" are to bring added vitality to downtown Olympia over the summer, provide opportunities for local artists to create public art within their own community, and to meet the City Council’s goal of bringing focus to our downtown.

The project proposals have been through a jury process, a technical review and consideration by the Olympia Arts Commission. The public is invited to view the narrative and schematic designs for the proposals and to comment on them. Following the public review, the designs will go before the City Council on February 26, 2008 for final approval. The Olympia Center is located at 222 Columbia St NW, and viewing hours are 8am-7pm Monday-Friday, and Saturday from 8am-5pm. For more information, please contact the Arts Program Office at 709-2678.

Like I wrote in the first of this series, there is so much happening on OlyBlog that it can be easy to miss out on all the treasures.

For this episode I invite you all to browse around through enpen's work. Special focus on the documentation of Oly visuals.

Visit:

• Capitol Theater Free Wall
• Oly Artist Interviews
• Oly Public Art