Inside the Community Arts Project

Deborah and Uzuri

A group of Potrero Hill neighbors met recently to kick-off a collaborative arts project whose goal is to build community and connect people from all sides of the hill. The next meeting is Friday, July 8, starting at 6:30 pm at the Potrero Hilll Neighborhood House.

The organizers of this project are two women, Deborah Reed and Uzuri Greene. The two of them met rather serendipitously. Uzuri was walking through the neighborhood, offering her services with household work; Deborah took her up on the offer and asked Uzuri to help wash some cars. The two of them chatted, and Deborah asked her if she knew of any artists who lived in public housing that would be interested in a community arts project. Shortly after leaving, Uzuri called Deborah to let her know that she and her husband were excited about the project and wanted to become involved.

Deborah tells us that:

"Uzuri and I have been talking and meeting and in a way acting like a microcosm of what this project could be about, people of different backgrounds and life situations figuring out how to work together on a common project we both believe in. We've talked about the importance of getting people on the hill to connect more, to help break down some of the barriers, fears and misunderstandings that exist ... especially between those who live in the projects and those who don't. It's been an interesting and enriching process so far, and I hope enough people want to participate to get this project off the ground."

Deborah envisions the project becoming an installation which would be composed of different components made by small groups. So, a group of 4 or 5 people would design and create a piece that would later be combined with other pieces that would have some common thematic, visual or structural element to form a cohesive whole, preferably 3 dimensional.

The next meeting is a potluck dinner, so bring your ideas, your appetite, and some food to share with the group.

> Click here for event info