This project is being administered by the local non-profit ART FOR THE PEOPLE. Art For the People has had a presence in the Takoma area for a very long time. Headed by sculptor Alice Sims, the organization works with children, shelter residents, seniors, anywhere that people need opportunities for creative expression and exploration. Visit Art for the People's site at http://www.artforthepeople.org
“Art is freedom. Art is balance.
Art is... connection!”
- aftp president alice sims
ARTURO HO lead artist
Born in Maputo, Mozambique, of Chinese ancestry and raised in the Washington DC, Arturo gained his art education Philadelphia, home to mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar. Arturo has been actively involved in the arts for over 15 years and always strives to work in collaboration, often with under-served and cultural diverse communities. Arturo's mosaic murals at the Takoma Park Middle School were a memorable experience for students involved, and a lasting gift to the community.
“I believe that arts should be experienced by all peoples because art has no boundaries and limitations, art can be uplifting and empowering as well as healing”. .
LAURIE STEPP Co-director and communictions director.
Webmistress, designer, interdisciplinary artist, mother, Johns Hopkins museum studies graduate student, mosaicist.
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF VISIONARY ARTS
We are being advised on the craft of mosaic by artists who worked on the spectacular mosaic mural at the American Visionary Art Museum, at Baltimore's harbor. AVAM advocates for the work of untrained artists and is a dynamic force in Baltimore's cultural life. We can learn from their technical and aesthetic experience and be inspired by the beauty of their creation. As the project moves forward, we will compile their good advice online, so that Takoma residents will have the resources to continuing working in mosaic, interior or exterior, after this project is complete. Special thanks to Joe Wall, Bonnie Bonnell and Jack Livingston, who led or worked on Phases I & 2 of the AVAM mural. Learn more at http://www.avam.org
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Special thanks to John Hume, at Sligo Creek Tile and Rick Shelley, Baltimore mosaicist and author.
This project is being lead by the local nonprofit Art For The People conjunction with The City of Takoma Park & The Takoma Foundation of the Montgomery County Community Foundation.