Bringing Art to the People
Author Judi Currie
Arts Build Community, a NH-based group of artists, creators and community leaders, hosted Manchester鈥檚 first community mural festival, led by the group鈥檚 founder, James Chase, an artist and an associate professor at the Institute of Art and Design at New England College.
The Community Canvas Mural Program, held August 11-22, showcased several murals that will beautify Manchester neighborhoods. For Chase, it was a return to his roots.
As an intern at the Institute of Art, Chase took community education classes working with artists much further along in their careers. 鈥淚 learned that art wasn鈥檛 about answers,鈥� says Chase. 鈥淚t was a way of investigating. That鈥檚 something that I鈥檝e always carried with me: how art can have the possibility of wonder and to inspire and pose questions.鈥�
After returning to NH in 2014, he looked for ways to inspire others. He was working at the Institute, Manchester Community College and Mass Art and served as an arts commissioner for the City of Manchester.
鈥淲e had a budget of zero, so how do you promote the arts with a budget of zero? You have to go within your own network and have a long-term goal. We put a public sculpture on Old Granite Street and started doing pop-up galleries.鈥�
During the pandemic, because people couldn鈥檛 come into galleries, he and his students retrofitted a trailer and literally brought art to the people in Manchester, Concord and Henniker.
To secure locations for murals, Chase says he started with getting buy-in from the community. With his co-producer on the project, Dominique Miller, he looked for community partners that they could assist with their vision.
鈥淗ow do we build murals with the community rather than for the community? From there, it鈥檚 just really taken off,鈥� says Chase. 鈥淲e鈥檙e working with Families in Transition and MyTurn.鈥�
The project focused on the Pearl Street parking lot, which is in Manchester鈥檚 master plan to redevelop. Chase says they began with active listening parties aimed at building ideas for the murals.
鈥淢anchester has such a great diversity of population, backgrounds and workforce, so to have these murals reflect the people that actually live there is crucial. How do you feel that you鈥檙e welcome if you don鈥檛 see yourself reflected and represented?鈥� he says.
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