Mapping the Landscape of Learning

2005
acrylic, vinyl, paper on panel
commissioned by Alameda County Alliance for Arts Learning Leadership
and CCA Center for Art and Public Life

Maps provide us with the tools to navigate both physical and personal space. This public piece was commissioned to be collaborative and inclusive, and to address how the arts in Alameda County schools and communities are vital.

Taken from a mirrored map of Alameda County’s 18 school districts, each district was isolated and made into an “island” to re-think lands as new points of arts connection. Overarching questions linking the components were “What connects you to the arts?” and “How do the arts connect us?” Specific Alliance words (“compassion”, “interdependence”, etc) were also employed to create further connections.

At a table in front, visitors drew or wrote on red paper circles, then added them to the wall by locating where (“Oakland”) or what (“Collaboration”) they felt connected to. Wonderful drawings, scribbles, poems, rants, and questions were eventually scattered in a highly organic way across the piece.