coast to coast

project: #4

location: 13 cities across the U.S.

date: 17th May – 12th Sept, 2014

type: tour / collaborative paintings / music / live art / artist showcases / poetry slams

COAST TO COAST

An idea built up from dream state suddenly carved deep within the creative veins that consume the artist self in me. An idea seemingly too big too soon was to be tested and executed across America. The map lay there and the cities began calling out from the page as if the people, the communities, were begging for a creative chance. Dots and lines were drawn, and all of a sudden 13 unrelated places had a connection to each other. The Coast to Coast road trip tour was underway.

THE CITIES.

Minneapolis. Creative gems hide along a majestic river bed. Musicians making waves. Art-district streets flowing with inspired locals. Bike-ways, green grasses, and cool blue fresh waters.

Chicago. Train and subway lines showcasing street art genius. Historic architecture keeping eyes up and necks cricked. Poets, park artists, and creative city type stamping this Midwest city as the center of it all.

Saint Louis. The gateway to a new type of creative. Sculptural playgrounds. Mouth watering markets. Collective art spaces. All likes of the city highlight the talents of the people. The unique people… building new bridges to connect us all.

Denver. A mountain casting shadows from afar. The shadows dance, sing, create, eat, and live anyway. A cross-way of the country drawing inspiration from all corners. Bright, colorful, flavorful inspiration.

Santa Fe. A place like no other. The streets, the homes, the cafes, the people… like no other. A small charm creating in big, expressive, impressive, like no other, ways.

Moab. One may visit and never leave. Stay for the natural red-orange, dusty beauty. Stay for the sunrises and the sunsets. Stay for the community that is constantly creating, exploring, and growing together.

Las Vegas. Bright lights beam on even brighter stars. A sleepless city. Downtown. Arttown. Paristown. Moneytown. It’s a city of all cities. Of all flavors. Of all creative stars.

Long Beach. A lighthouse leads to coastal creatives. Local shops. Local foods. Local attitudes. It’s all happening here. Work hard. Create more. Inspire all.

San Francisco. Steep city hills keep creative juices rolling. New age innovations. Old school community creations. Mixing up the traditional. Creating new forms of art, media, food, and community.

Portland. A fresh, new, weird that keeps your spirit young and pure. Trucks of food. Bikes of color. Life is anything but ordinary. Creativity thrives. Let your inner child roam free.

Miami. Look beyond the beaches and the palms. Walls become canvas as the outdoor gallery rounds every corner. Flavor and style give this hot stirring city a creative punch.

Philadelphia. History and art go hand in hand. Comics keep things light. Musicians keep things true. Artists keep things interesting. An old community still thrives.

Boston. Harbour and lake views stun the senses. A city re-invented with music, art, and love. Old highways hold as much character as the old red bricks built below them.

New York City. A tangled dirty beautiful mess of art, music, and madness. Night and day the city beats its creative drums. The crowds, the fashions, the foods, the neighborhoods, they all blend uniquely together. One big city. One big dream.

ONLY ONE DAY.

From city to city. This tour had us on the run. Drive all night. Explore all day. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. The minutes couldn’t get any faster, but when event days came time stood still. The street side set-up stopped everyone in their tracks. Suddenly, there was enough time to listen to a sidewalk band. Enough time to watch an artist paint a portrait. To hear a poet speak and a friend sing. To laugh, learn, communicate and create. Each city event was only one day. But sometimes only one moment is all we really needed anyway.

THE END OF THE ROAD.

And in the end they hung on white walls side by side. People from each corner of the country. People from different cities, different backgrounds, different jobs, environments, and personalities. In a room fit for 50… over 700 were there. This was the end of the road, and they all showed up.

Co-tour comrad, Bernard McNearney, biking NE Minneapolis streets.

Bikes along the Mississippi River Park Path. Minneapolis

Musician Elizabeth Ghandour playing a set at the Minneapolis event.

Minneapolis community paintings.

Framing the iconic Bean Sculpture. Downtown Chicago.

Creative Doorways. Chicago. — Doorway. Art. Chicago.

Chicago community member painting the Alley Art canvas.

Chicago community paintings.

A Saint Louis market filled with bright, savory, colorful foods.

Cake sculpture. Pogo jumper. Saint Louis

A local DJ mixing at the creatives hot spot, Blank Space.

A father and son bond while painting on the Saint Louis Alley Art canvas. — A father and son bond while painting on the Saint Louis A.A. canvas.

Saint Louis community paintings.

Hidden in the shadows. Art on walls. Denver.

Denver musician on Santa Fe St. First friday art madness.

Denver event rocking the patio at Backstage Coffee. — A.A. Denver event rocking out the patio at Backstage Coffee.

Denver community paintings.

Santa Fe Railyard. Visual displays at the Currents Festival. currentsnewmedia.org

Artists collaborating with spray. Santa Fe. — Artists collaborating with spray at an outdoor arts event. Santa Fe.

Santa Fe community paintings.

An awe inspiring sunset over the Moab landscape.

Local musicians Scott Ibex and Dhyana Green collaborate at the Alley Art Moab event. — Local musicians Scott Ibex and Dhyana Green collaborate at the A.A. Moab event.

Moab community paintings.

Bright lights shine throughout the night. Las Vegas.

Interesting art fills downtown Vegas galleries.

Artist Jef Logan working live at the A.A. Vegas event.

Artist Alexander Huerta poses for a portrait.

Las Vegas community paintings.

Kids working hard on a larger A.A. Long Beach painting. — Families working hard on a larger A.A. Long Beach painting outside of ARTX. www.artexchangelb.org

A completed large collaboration from the A.A. Long Beach event. — A board collaboration from the A.A. Long Beach event.

Long Beach community paintings.

San Francisco. Interesting architecture. Interesting murals.

A birds eye of the community collaborating at the A.A. San Francisco event.

Musicians playing their weekly Sunday tunes. San Francisco.

Local artists sketching at 111 Minna's "Sketch Tuesdays" — Local artists sketching at 111 Minna’s “Sketch Tuesdays”

San Francisco community paintings.

The Alley Art table of paints. Portland.

Portland community paintings.

Wynwood murals lit up after hours. Miami.

A.A. Miami event underway in the Wynwood Brewing Co.

Miami community paintings.

Philadelphia locals getting creative for their portrait shot.

Black Brick taking the stage at the A.A. Philadelphia event. — Black Brick owning the stage at the A.A. Philadelphia event.

Philadelphia community paintings.

An alley of art, just what we like. Boston.

Boston musicians lighting the stage at a SOFAR Sounds gig.

Young aspiring artists making bold moves on the Boston A.A. canvas'. — Young aspiring artists making bold moves on the Boston A.A. canvas’.

Boston community paintings.

Fashion. Frames. And fully colored walls. The living Gallery, Brooklyn.

The Living Gallery owner and artist, Nyssa Frank getting involved with the interactive Alley Art installation. Brooklyn.

Artists creating at the final event from the tour. NYC.

 More TOUR PHOTOS

 Links to ARTISTS & CONTRIBUTORS

 TOUR VIDEOS

 AND… A real live photo book for PURCHASE

ALLEY ART COAST TO COAST by Jennifer Charboneau | Make Your Own Book

alley art facebook @alleyartproject alley art videos

alleyarteverywhere@gmail.com

9 years ago

EMBRACING CHANGE

project: #3

location: Fremantle, aka Freo @ The Fremantle Fibonacci Centre (the fib)

date: 30th March, 2014

type: collaborative painting / music / live art making

THE END OF THE BLUE LINE.

Embracing Change took place a short train ride south of Perth in the eclectic harbour town known as Freo. The ocean scented streets guide travelers drifters and locals to the soul of it all. To mouth-watering fish & chips. To Little Creatures taps ever flowing with hops and barley. To an old daunting prison howling out stories and mysteries. To bustling markets. To street musicians. Artists. Poets. Dwellers. Cafe connoisseurs. Sailors. To endless boats. boxes. and beaches. To seagulls. To sea smells. The soul of this little town is all there, at the end of the blue line. Ride it to the end. To Fremantle Station.

ART FOUND HERE.

It’s here that John Butler went from busking on street corners to finding his Trio. It’s here that small rooms filled with music lovers saw the likes of Bon Iver and Courtney Barnett before the rest of the world did. And here that street artists and performers outnumber suits & ties. Art is found here. I know because I found it. The first hot sweaty day I wandered the streets lost and bewildered I found art here.

EMBRACING CHANGE.

As the old harbour town and my drifting self have changed over the years I thought it no better way to introduce Alley Art to the community than to focus on embracing those changes. A short month of chaotic prep and promo lay out the project’s tracks. Then just like that, we were in motion. A one day art event would fill our senses. And “change” would fill our minds.

THE PULSE OF CREATION.

A 2 x 1 meter canvas was stretched and stapled to an old wooden panel. The blank white space lay there. Inviting hands and time to create it’s painted completion. Scattered around the room were tables filled with ambitious local artists. Brushes got dirty. Art was created, discovered, and sold. Musicians set the pulse of the room with buzzing harmonies and bass beats. mmmm. Tat. mmmm. Tat. People filed in and out. In and out. It was a flowing pulse of creation.

HOURS & NUMBERS.

After over 10 hours of art, music, food, coffee, beers, and conversations a hand full of us remained. We were weary. Exhausted. And maybe a bit delusional. There was not an ounce of creativity left. We had exerted it all. Before the night’s end the last of us sprawled out around the completed community piece to capture still moments of silliness and happiness. Over 60 people had contributed to the painting over those hours. It’s finality showed layers, colors, shapes, words, and patterns. It showed change. and that is all we could have hoped for.

Get Creative, Get Involved, Art IS Everywhere.

artists: Asterical designs . J. Charboneau . Junko Kitamura . John Gronos . Sugar Sweet . maxokoto . Rach Verheggen Art . Kelly Flemming . Jane Patterson . Nas Gadiri

musicians: Melissa North . John Ralph . David Pensa . Michael D. Lane

contributors: Fremantle Fibonacci Centre . Blinco Street Cafe & Gallery . Nude Fude . 60+ community members

A.A.3.FREO — Fremantle Prison under bright neon lights.

alley art facebook @alleyartproject alley art videos

alleyarteverywhere@gmail.com

9 years ago

today

project: #2

location: Perth @ The Bakery

date: 6th March, 2014

type: collaborative painting / co-event with RAW: Natural Born Artists

A LONE CITY THRIVES.

The most isolated city in the world sits on a coastline of sandy white beaches. Follow the great Swan River from the bay to the city lights. To the park for Kings. To the winding streets hiding savory foods and alleyway cafe’s. Sit in squares with poetry readers, accordian players, and street cart venders. Gaze at murals in cityscape windows and train line stations. This lone city thrives with inspiration put there by it’s people. People who have come, people who have never left.

RAW.

The first few steps into the venue space leaves you numb. Your senses become overwhelmed with creativity. Art. Jewerly. Make-up. Models. Films. Photos. Fashion. Music Beats and Bright lights. Dedication. Soul. and Passion. The stage is set everywhere. Your city. My city. East. West. North. South. It’s as RAW as art should be.

BLACK & WHITE.

The RAW: Perth showcase began as the hot sun fell behind the shipping container walls. I was an invited artist, and I was ambitious to introduce Alley Art to the buzzing and creative Perth community. The task for them was to reflect on “Today”. To write. draw. express. and create. RAW patrons and artists passed by. The canvas lay there for the creating. It was a task plain as day. Nothing more than a reflection of personal experience. It was all very black and white.

HIGHLIGHTING AN ALL SHADES CITY.

That “today” came and went. As all do. But a quick look back at what a community can create by working together brought final brushstrokes that highlighted a thriving, all shades of grey, city. It’s never just black and white…

artists: j.charboneau (community canvas featured artist)

contributors: RAW Perth community . 50+ Perth community members

A.A.2.PERTH — A giant Indian Ocean. A giant goon sculpture by Norton Flavel. www.sculpturebythesea.com

photo cred. — J.Charboneau art on display. Photo cred. Jason Matz Photography INSTA: @jasonmatzphotography

alley art facebook @alleyartproject alley art videos

alleyarteverywhere@gmail.com

9 years ago

BEGINNINGS

project: #1

location: Denver @ undisclosed garage site

date: 3rd August, 2013

type: collaborative paintings / artist showcase

THE ROAD.

It was a project that began on the road. Two artists, Kate Jane and J.Charboneau drove. slept. ate. and painted. Their inspirations came from endless horizon lines. From sleeping under the stars. From good conversations over bad coffee. They painted by moonlight while drinking whiskey from the bottle. They wandered towns and cities with no aim but to experience them. They sat on dirt paths and busy sidewalks sketching and busking the hot summer days away. This was where it all started. Alley Art began as a chaotic idea from a couple of chaotic artistic nomads.

A TREE FELL IN THE FOREST.

As difficult it seems to show work in a gallery, it proves even more so difficult to catch the attention of the uninterested viewer. An artist’s survival depends on being noticed. Whether their work is noticed in good or bad taste, it is the interaction of another fresh eye that brings whatever idea or subject the artist is portraying to life. If it remains unseen it could very well be just as true as the tree that fell in the forest that nobody heard.

QUESTIONS.

The uninterested, dis-involved viewer rang focus in the coffee shop conversations of the two artistic nomads. They schemed and plotted. Questions rolled off their over-caffeinated tongues. How does one unintrusively grab the attention of the non-viewer? How does one bring the non-gallery goer to the forefront of the arts scene? How does one give art and creativity back to the people? How does one get the people to start looking?

ANSWERS.

The answers came with an invitation. Invite the non-viewer to participate rather than speculate. Grab them from their comforts and, even if for just one moment, make them the creator. Create art that is not only for the people… but that is also by the people.

CREATION FOR ALL.

Give them visual reigns on their turf. In their cafe’s. On their walls. In their *Alleyways. In the places they can’t avoid. So when it’s there in front of them, they look. For what man would avoid attention to that which they created.

A BEAUTIFUL MESS IN DENVER.

The first “Alley Art” project -as every series needs a name- began simple. A short invitation for a small community in Denver to stop by a house. The invitation: come paint. come drink. come see local art. There was no cover at the door. No white walls with art and titles to ponder over. Music blared from a house speaker. And when it rained the wooden board with stretched stapled canvas was moved to the small garage beside the house. It was 6 or 7 of them. Painting. Dancing. Drinking. Every once in a while they would step away to giddily gaze over what they were creating. Paint and chalk were layered and erased as the day turned to night. Hours went. But no one noticed until the storm finally struck fierce and took the power. They finished. Closed the paint jars. Critiqued by candlelight. The spontaneity of the many hands that approached the canvas’ left a mess of colors and lines. But what a beautiful mess.

BEGINNINGS.

The beginning of Alley Art. A chaotic beautiful mess that made the non-viewer not only look… but also help create that which they are looking at.

artists: Kate Jane . J.Charboneau

contributors: 15 Denver community members