PROJECT: Insert Change Here Art Exhibition
ROLE: Strategist, Producer

Portland public schools have no statewide arts education requirements. Only 18% of elementary schools offer visual art classes, while only 58% offer music classes, and 11,596 students don’t get any classes in the arts at all. For a city of so-called makers, Portland isn't making its own artists. 

Beginning with a set of repurposed vending machine—we created an interactive experience that allowed anyone to vend art from local artists, donating all profits toward arts education in the SUN Community Schools network. In the interest of art accessibility for everyone, all the art would be affordably priced—even for as little as a quarter.

MACHINES 

As the producer on the project, one of my responsibilities entailed fetching 13 vintage style vending machines in Oregon. Two Uhaul trips and 100 miles later, we had enough vending machines to start a profitable business...or in our case a charitable art show. 

The slideshow below shows a few of the finished machines, including two experimental machines we created for some live vendable entertainment. 

ARTISTS

To fill the machines, we put out an artist call world-wide. Contributions ranged from screenprinted posters to jewelry, limited edition clothing, stationery sets, leather wallets, photo series, zines, and other imaginative pieces to fit in the revamped machines.

ONLINE PRESENCE

We also created a website for people to learn more about our initiative and view the featured art beforehand. 

EVENT

The show attracted over 700 visitors throughout the night. All of the art was sold, resulting in a donation sum of $7,698. All proceeds went to the Sun Community Schools toward better arts education. After the event, we were inspired to get out and support organizations in the community that place a focus on arts education. There's truly nothing more gratifying than making art with the next generation of artists. 

PRESS

All in all, the event was a huge success. We stirred conversation. We got people involved. We made a statement. We helped make more artists. This became press-worthy material for some local and global publications that heard about the event. I've included some of the highlights below.