art-for-essential-workers — Jeremiah Barber

5.13.2020

I’ve been weathering the shutdown by mostly writing, drawing, and small sculptural work in my house (Minnesota Street has been closed since the Shelter in Place order in mid March). It’s been a challenge to adapt to so much time indoors, so when 100 Days Action was approached with a proposition to install artwork on boarded up businesses, we jumped at the opportunity.

Art for Essential Workers was born. A project that mirrors many other mural based responses to the boarding up of our cities, our project commissions artworks from social practice artists to respond to the crisis with messages of optimism and solidarity. Their drawings are digitized and printed and wheatpasted up on businesses that choose work that suits them.

It’s been a beautiful way to reenter public space by hanging art. We have had so many lovely interactions with folks on the street who are excited to see something go up in place of the scrappy, graffiti covered boards that line the street.

We don’t know how long this project may last, nor the long term implications of the Shelter in Place. In the meantime we’re hoping to share some works by artists who can speak to this moment with levity and joy.

Project Update 9/20: We ended the project with an incredible roster. I was so proud to work with these artists and see their work go out in the world. Several turned these short commissions into larger scale works.

Caren Andrews & Katina Papson Rigby, Marcela Pardo Ariza & Juan Carlos Rodriguez & Felipe Garcia Jr., Miguel Arzabe, Christy Chan, Jeffrey Cheung, Alicia Escott, Rodney Ewing, Amos Goldbaum, Jamil Hellu, Angela Hennessy, Alex Hernandez, Liz Hernández, Liz Hickok, Ben Leon, Aida Lizalde, Bonny Nahmias, Christo Oropeza, Sofie Ramos, Rachelle Reichert, Jerome Reyes, Jocelyn Tsaih, Leila Weefur, Jenifer Wofford, Chelsea Wong, Christine Wong Yap