They have three weeks left to paint 5500 square feet. The retainer wall located in the parking lot of the Rhode Island Avenue Shopping Center now stands scrubbed, buffed, and primed. Easily visible from the Rhode Island Metro stop, a wall the size of a football field gleams white, awaiting the paintbrushes of 45 DC youth and six acclaimed public artists.

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities’ (DCCAH) Summer Employment Program and its partner, the non-profit public arts group Albus Cavus, are working this summer to pair professional artists with young DC artists to create the largest public mural in DC in the Edgewood neighborhood. The project incorporates community engagement and outreach, as well as teaching the technical skills necessary for planning and implementing public art. “We’re giving these young adults an opportunity to be exposed to the arts and a chance to be a part of the creative economy,” says Gloria Nauden, Executive Director for the DCCAH.

With three weeks left, the young artists are set to begin painting immediately. Their theme? “Beyond the Edge.” The mural will reflect the community unto itself. Bursting with the creative soul and spirit of the artists, the mural will depict the people of the community and the dreams of a new generation. Lines of poetry will flow across the wall, written in the voices of the young artists. Straight shots of color will streak throughout: red, yellow, orange, green and blue, to represent the Metro lines that connect all of DC. “The imagery is about reflecting the community, like a mirror, and self-reflection, where creativity grows,” says artist Chor Boogie.

“Beyond the Edge” is 275 feet long and 20 feet high. The artists and their young apprentices have a plan to tackle this mammoth project. With the design for the mural now set, the artists will literally project it onto the wall and sketch it in. Next, they will erect scaffolding; and, the young artists will pick up brushes and begin painting the mural they helped to design.

When finished, the mural will be greater than the size of a football field; yet, “Beyond the Edge” is only the beginning for this grand-scale public art project. The wall that the young artists will be painting serves as the anchor. On August 15, over 100 muralists will “jam” to nearly double the size of the mural to 500 feet long in one day.

“Beyond the Edge” will be a window into the souls of the artists and the community. The art shows a new generation’s vision for a bold future and hope for all of DC. The size and scale serve as inspiration for a community that is revitalizing itself and for artists to dream big.

You have the frame, you have your message. The project is daring, the artists are world-class. But you have no press. Shouldn’t reporters be crawling out of the woodwork to cover this story? Doesn’t the visual just shout front-page? It may, but reporters don’t swoop in like fairy godmothers. They don’t have some journalistic version of “Spidey Sense” for great stories. They need direction, too.

The perceived success of any project is in part determined by the amount of press and attention it receives. Media pushes projects into the limelight and gives them a greater future. Garnering media attention is a competition, though. There are hundreds of stories floating about, and everyone thinks theirs is the best. To get attention, you have to make the effort.

The bread and butter of catching the media’s attention are pitch calls. Pitch calls set a foundation for future relations and are the most direct way of reaching a reporter. The frame of any successful pitch call will lay out the “5 W’s” for a reporter: who, what, where, when, and why. This is the basic information any reporter needs to have to decide in about one minute if your message is a story. It needs to be formatted in a succinct manner that catches attention and communicates how your project is different from every other group they have heard from.

Pitch calls can seem daunting at first. You constantly face the possibility of a negative response. However, you must proceed with confidence. You believe in your project and are passionate about it and that is the key element when talking to the media. To receive excitement, you must project it. No one is going to listen to a robot. A monotone mumbler will never make the 7 second news-bite.

Many also proceed under the impression that they are bothering a reporter or intruding on their busy schedules. Instead, you need to consider your call as doing the media a service. They are always on the look-out for a great story, and instead of having to go out and search for it, you have brought them it to their doorstep. Pitch calling is the beginning of building positive relationships with the media. It is a reciprocal partnership from which both of you will benefit. Forming these relationships will also aid you in future projects because once a reporter knows your work and that it is newsworthy, they are much more likely to continue providing you coverage in the future.

Making a Pitch Call:
1. Place your pitch call plan in front of you. Make sure you have read it through enough times so that you will not sound as if you are reading a script.
2. Pick up the phone and dial the first person on your press
3. Smile. When you smile, your voice changes inflection. It is infused with enthusiasm and warmness. Always pleasant to hear on the other end of the phone.
4. When you call, politely, yet firmly ask for the person with whom you wish to speak. Make sure you state your name and the group you represent.
5. If you reach the reporter, follow the pitch script you practiced. If you reach a voicemail, leave a message that includes all your major talking points, along with your name and contact information.
6. At the end of a pitch, always gather the reporter’s contact information including name, phone number and email address. Make sure you jot down any pertinent notes so you can follow through in the future.

Congratulations! You can now begin forming important press relationships and grabbing the spotlight for your project!

-Kimi Killen

Photo Credit: Sarah Massey

(Washington, DC, July 23, 2009) The story of the Edgewood Mural is told through its characters: the 45 young artists of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Summer Youth Employment Program, five directing artists, DC muralists, and the entire Edgewood community. This week, the Edgewood Mural project team stretched themselves and reached out further into the community to engage more storytellers. On Monday, the young artists participated in a spokesperson training session to put words to their art. They shared the messages they hope the mural will communicate.

“We are creating unity: uniting different DC neighborhoods, uniting young artists with experienced professionals, and uniting communities in their spaces,” said Artist Pose 2.

Artist Quest Skinner stated her hope that the Edgewood Mural, “Showcases these young artists’ unique talents, dreams, and expressions. I really want these young artists to leave with new gateways and bridges to their future.” The mural team sees art as empowerment through the expression of self, and unity can be fostered through joint creativity. The mural is a synergistic effort between self and community, inner and outer. For the Edgewood Mural project, public art is not only the goal. The art is also the frame for the intangible results, such as inspiration to a young child, a flash of vibrant color in the eyes of a cyclist along the new Metropolitan Branch Trail, or a smile on the face of WMATA rider who sees the mural from the Red Line train.

On Tuesday, July 21, the Edgewood Mural project team presented its vision for art and engagement at the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission 5C, which considers a wide range of policies and programs affecting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, and more. Ten Commissioners and 30 local residents heard more about how public art can lift up residents’ lives and contribute to safer and healthier streets. “In our experience bringing murals and public art to communities, we see that communities maintain and enjoy the public spaces. Parents bring their kids, and the spaces become more active and safe,” said Peter Krsko, Director of the public arts nonprofit Albus Cavus, which is leading the Edgewood Mural effort.

Another way to bring more attention and engagement is to bring more artists. On August 15, Albus Cavus will host an all-day “mural jam” with 100 DC muralists who will bring their art to an adjoining wall, and extend the mural another 200 feet. The Edgewood Mural runs along the new Metropolitan Branch Trail.
 

muralists jam at Streets 2K8 at the Raritan River Art Walk

“We want to liven up the community and get everyone to appreciate art more. The mural is about expressing ourselves and exposing the community to our talents,” Participant Brooke Hargrove said. “The Edgewood Mural is creating stronger communities through empowering young DC artists to paint their generations’ spirit into public spaces and create something that shows a little bit of our souls.”

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This week, listen to Edgewood Mural artists Peter Krsko, Pose 2, and Mike Money on WAMU’s Metro Connection with Host David Furst.

Photo credit: Sarah Massey

Tune into WAMU 88.5 FM to hear a story on the Edgewood mural project in DC. Metro Connection Host David Furst visited the project team on site in Mid-July and interviewed artists Peter Krsko, Pose 2, and Mike Money.

By Artist Pose 2

 
Albus Cavus has been creating innovative public art up and down the East Coast for seven years, bringing murals and events to community centers, bike trails, warehouses, and urban centers. This summer, we’re bringing a large-scale mural to the Edgewood community of Northeast DC and creating a new curriculum on youth leadership in public arts. Albus Cavus and 45 DC youth, with the help of artists Pose 2, Quest Skinner, Decoy, Joshua Mays and Chor Boogie, and in conjunction with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Summer Youth Employment Program, have begun the transformation of an Edgewood parking lot into vibrant designs and community art.

The Edgewood mural project is a gift to the greater DC community. By soliciting input from the community, the mural becomes a piece of art that is owned by the community, not the individual. Artist Quest Skinner says, “Our goal in life is not just to express ourselves but to give our natural gifts to the public.”

(Washington, DC, July 17, 2009) — Usually, when commuters step off the train at the Rhode Island Metro Station, they are greeted by shopping outlets, street traffic, and a vast stretch of concrete. However, as of this week, travelers are starting to see change. What was pockmarked and covered in grime, a vast stretch of wall in the parking lot west of the station now gleams white. Albus Cavus and 45 DC youth, with the help of artists Pose 2, Quest Skinner, Decoy, Joshua Mays and Chor Boogie, and in conjunction with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Summer Youth Employment Program, have begun the transformation of a parking lot into a work of public art.

Today, the wall exists as a blank canvas, waiting for the ideas of the artists, participants, and community to traverse its surface. The artists and participants have collaborated to create a plan for the 300-foot wall, considering the history and timeline of the Edgewood neighborhood during a period of transition. “We’ve talked to the people who live in Edgewood and the young people who are working on the designs and painting with us. Everyone is excited to see their ideas included in the mural,” artist Alicia “Decoy” Cosnahan explained. By soliciting input from the community, the mural becomes a piece of art that is owned by the community, not the individual.

A significant part of the mural plan is to bring together the people and places of DC. Through paint, the wall will present images that are singularly DC, yet are defined by the artists’ personalities, as well as the neighborhood’s. The wall will be a veritable collage of viewpoints. “Through this mural and in this space, the whole city is interconnected. DC’s young, the old, and everyone in between is involved in the Edgewood mural and gets to be a part of what they want to see in the city,” artist Quest Skinner said.

On August 15, Albus Cavus is hosting a “mural jam” for local artists to contribute their work and extend the mural down the sprawling wall to the street. On August 22, the mural will be unveiled at a Public Opening. The event invites the community to learn and appreciate the artwork and will feature live music, deejays, giveaways and an artist market.

The mural will be transforming lives and helping the neighborhood transition towards its potential. The new Metropolitan Branch Trail will run alongside the mural, bringing cycle wheels, rollerblades, and jogging shoes to the neighborhood. When the mural is complete, the grey wall seen from the Rhode Island Metro stop will have ceased to exist. In its place, colors and designs will have appeared, wheeling across the wall. It will have transcended artistic ownership and be a gift to the Edgewood and greater DC community. Artist Quest Skinner concluded, “Our goal in life is not just to express ourselves but to give our natural gifts to the public.”

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Photo Credit: Mika Altskan

For interviews and high resolution photos, please contact Massey Media at 202 518-6186

Check out this cool use of crowdsourcing to submit the best public ideas on a national broadband plan. Having just spent two weeks in Paris where broadband was ubiquitous, I realize how very far behind the U.S. is in this integral infrastructure. The New America Foundation and Google have made it easy for you to join the conversation. Please let our government know how important it is to you to communicate.

- Sarah Massey

For Immediate Release: July 16, 2009

As part of the economic stimulus legislation (ARRA), Congress charged the FCC with creating a National Broadband Plan by next February.

The Commission has called for “maximum civic engagement” in developing a broadband strategy, reflecting input from all stakeholders. Initial comments have been filed and now it’s the public’s turn to contribute their views and ideas.

To encourage public input, the New America Foundation is joining forces with Google to launch a Google Moderator page to aggregate public opinion on this critical policy issue. Google Moderator provides the general public with a forum to submit and vote on ideas you think the Commission should include in its National Broadband Plan.

After two weeks, Google and NAF will take the most popular and most innovative ideas and submit them to the official record at the FCC on your behalf.

We hope you will post your views on Google Moderator - and also forward this to your contacts and constituents.

We can all help answer the FCC’s call for input from stakeholders ‘outside the beltway,’ including “industry, American consumers; large and small businesses; federal, state, local, and tribal governments; and disabled communities.”

Among the key elements of a national broadband plan under consideration:

• The most effective and efficient ways to ensure ubiquitous broadband access for all Americans;
• Strategies for achieving affordability and maximum utilization of broadband infrastructure and services;
• Evaluation of the status of broadband deployment, including the progress of related grant programs;
• How to use broadband to advance consumer welfare, civic participation, public safety and homeland security, community development, health care delivery, energy efficiency, education, worker training, entrepreneurial activity, job creation and other national purposes.

As Commissioner Michael Copps noted, “Broadband can be the great enabler that . . . opens doors of opportunity for all Americans to pass through, no matter who they are, where they live, or the particular circumstances of their individual lives.” A national broadband plan promises far-reaching consequences for economic growth and equal opportunity across all sectors for decades to come.

You can join the discussion at: http://moderator.appspot.com/#16/e=a4977

For media requests, please contact Kate Brown, Media Relations Manager, at 202-596-3365(w) or 202-213-7051(m).

New America’s Wireless Future Program develops and advocates policy proposals aimed at achieving universal and affordable wireless broadband access, expanding public access to the airwaves and updating our nation’s communications infrastructure in the digital era. For more information, visit http://www.newamerica.net/programs/wireless_future.

About the New America Foundation
The New America Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute that invests in new thinkers and new ideas to address the next generation of challenges facing the United States.

Every chef worth their salt understands the importance of process. If you pour the cream in too soon, the sauce spoils; if you reduce it too fast, it will never thicken, and instead of serving that perfect bechamel sauce, your guests will be sipping a slightly runny, quite buttery cream soup.

Process is key in every profession. A runner always stretches before a game and artists must be careful to mix their paints properly. Process is like that great woman standing behind that powerful man; rarely seen or heard, but without her disaster would ensue.

Like most people, the media is not interested in process. Who wants to see the chef whisking the steaming sauce when you could have the final dish? Just look at sports, for example. The front cover is never of a runner stretching and doing warm up sprints; it is of him crossing the finish line. Mass media is interested in that snapshot moment. But the participants live the process. They move through numerous problems and successes before reaching the end. So how do you tell this story? How do you find and make reporters care about the process?

To target press, you need to first know your message and what the end game is. What are you trying to accomplish? With public art, there are a couple central goals. First, you need influential citizens in the arts and government to notice your project because you, along with every organization, are looking for ways to expand. Secondly, you want the community to notice; you’ve revamped a portion of their neighborhood and they should share in its benefits.

Now that the message has been developed, you begin to search. You should always be reading press and media that covers your type of work and projects. These publications will give your search a great jumping off point. Next, scour local and national newspapers, magazines and blogs to find an audience. Find the movers and shakers of your community. Ask yourself: what are they reading? How do I appeal to them? For example, if you are looking to be placed in a publication or piece dealing with urban development, focus on the beautification aspects of your story. If you are speaking to a community, show them how your program affects their lives.

However, before any of this can happen, you have to convince reporters that you are newsworthy. Decide what stands out about your piece. Reporters are like teenage boys: they always want the newest thing, even better if no one else has it yet. How is your project different? If there is something controversial about the project, even better! It’s art and the age old adage “Any press is good press” is applicable here no more than anywhere else.

Making news with public art is just about making news. Exploit your visuals and don’t hide your differences. Art is about drama, full of color and life. It’s time to make it pop and sizzle for the media.

-Kimi Killen

Benington Community Center Wall painted by Albus Cavus. Photo Credit: Sarah Massey.

(Washington, DC, July 9, 2009) - One gallon of paint covers 300 square feet. To paint the Edgewood mural, the 45 DC young participants from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Summer Youth Employment program will need 17 gallons of paint to cover 5100 square feet. This week, the participants tackled the big the task of planning for a large-scale mural and learned that it will require more than just a can of paint. The young people will also need to find sponsors and determine all the supplies they will need to transform their blank wall into a work of art.

Under the direction of Albus Cavus, a public arts non-profit and artists Pose 2, Quest Skinner, Joshua Mays, Decoy, and Chor Boogie, the 45 participants used the public artists’ toolbox to hammer out their vision for the mural that will run alongside the Metropolitan Branch Trail near the Rhode Island Metro stop. They discussed the best way of putting their own personalities in paint by drawing on sketchpads and reading poetry. In the afternoon, though, the lesson turned to logistics and planning: how do you determine how much paint you need? What supplies will be necessary? How do you approach and speak with potential sponsors in the neighborhood?

With a giant tape measure, the artists and participants cordoned off the mural wall, counting blocks and measuring feet. A piece of chalk enabled the practice of long division and multiplication. “This program is not only about painting the mural; it’s about equipping DC’s young people so they can take these skills and do this in their neighborhood,” Albus Cavus director Peter Krsko explained. One of the goals of the Edgewood Mural project has been to provide the participants with a toolkit and curriculum for creating their own future public art projects.

The next task for the Edgewood mural team is garnering more support and sponsorship. In teams of four, the young participants practiced their request pitches on one another and were mindful to stay positive and keep it brief. Pose 2 reminded his group, “You’re a team.” No one would be working alone. The teams sought gift cards, painting supplies, water and food from churches and stores. Participant Amma Owusu reflected that the day’s experience showed them “the steps of action you need to take to get to the final product.” The program is teaching the participants the steps and behind-the-scenes work that it takes to put together large-scale projects before a paintbrush is even picked up.

During this experience, the project team continues its interaction and conversation with the community online through their crowdsourcing website, Create Public Art DC (http://createpublicartdc.ning.com ). Here the young people and artists communicate their personal vision through photos, forums, and blog posts, while collecting the ideas that the community has posted. For the participants, the mural is more than a picture on a wall; it is a process that will be greater than the sum of its parts and equip them with yet another skill for success.

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For interviews and high resolution photos, please contact Massey Media at 202 518-6186

Famed Mexican muralist Jose Clemente Orozco described a mural as “the most logical, the purest and strongest form of painting…it cannot be made a matter of private gain; it cannot be hidden away for the benefit of a certain privileged few. It is for the people.” When the Albus Cavus 2009 Edgewood Mural project is unveiled in mid-August, it will not only be for the people. It will be by the people.

The wall will be a collaborative effort between artist and community, individual and collective. During the nine-week program, the young DC participants have mined their own imaginations and used crowdsourcing (when “consumers” help create a product through feedback, typically on the internet) operations to take the temperature of the Edgewood community.

But in a climate where news is defined through sex, violence, and which “celebrity” is getting a divorce or which politician is dropping off the Appalachian Trail, how can public art grab a piece of the media pie? Should the media even want to cover public art?

Public art does not need media attention to exist, but attention is necessary to thrive. The very nature of “public art” is delineated by its name. To live as intended, public art requires interest: neighborhood, local, or national. Murals can represent social movements or beautification projects; and, oftentimes, the artist (or artists, in the case of the Edgewood mural) are looking to expand and continue creating. There are aseemingly infinite number of blank walls and not-so-pretty buildings calling for make-overs. America’s urban and suburban public spaces are built for functionality, not beauty. Groups like Albus Cavus seek to reverse this trend.

A new look, though, requires financial support, and this is where the media comes into play. The media’s purpose is to call attention to the newsworthy, important, new, or interesting. When public art receives a write-up, a TV interview or most importantly, a visual, it is able to reach an audience who can enable development and future projects.

Public art should be a “no-brainer” for mass media. It is the classic tale of the ugly duckling, and who doesn’t like a happy ending? It is the story of a barren, cracking parking lot wall that is transformed by passion and imagination into a veritable explosion of color and life. As mentioned previously, though, sex and scandal persist to be the big sellers.

The most important ingredient in the recipe for gaining press attention is to target and research your audience. You have to find the people who report on and write about your subject: art blogs, art critics, city writers, and development writers. Once you’ve created a targeted “press list,” the next step is to grab their attention and keep them up to date! What is the most interesting aspect of your art project? Is it the process of bringing 50 people together to create a singular work? Are public murals part of a social movement? Looking past the media, whose attention do you want to grab?

Public art is change you can see. If you can focus the public lens on the process and the qualitative results it produces, you will be more than another photo op. Make the media look closer, and they will find the experience.

-Kimi Killen

Photo Credit: Sarah Massey.

(Washington, DC, July 2, 2009) – Armed with cameras, notepads, and a new knowledge of their community, the 45 young participants in the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Summer Youth Employment Program hit the streets in Northeast to put art into action. They approached residents of Edgewood, interviewing them on what they would want to see in a community mural. Answers varied from education to famous DC monuments to empowering children to dream.

The young artists explored how the community could be reflected through a cohesive vision. Under the direction of Albus Cavus, a public arts non-profit, and artists Pose 2, Quest Skinner, Decoy, Joshua Mays, and Chor Boogie, the 45 participants are learning the meaning of public art, that it is a responsibility to their creative self and the imagination of the community. What should it be called? “45 artists, one vision,” participant Machee Kelly suggested.

The second week of the Edgewood mural project began with a history lesson. The participants learned that to understand a space, they must appreciate the lives and stories that live inside of it. During the morning session, they received first-hand accounts of how the neighborhood looked a decade ago, ridden with crime and drugs. Today, there are diverse cultures represented in the neighborhood and a renewed sense of possibility. Public art is continuing the revitalization effort and connecting the community.

To foster their artistic vision, DC photographer Alton McDougle showed the muralists his photos of famous DC landmarks, dewy flowers, and even a chimpanzee kissing a trainer, and discussed the ideas of lighting and framing. In addition to aiding the visual construction of the mural, this training will serve the participants as they document the process. “Photo documentary is important because it’s memory,” McDougle explained. Participant Michael Edwards echoed this sentiment, “Sometimes when you finish something you forget what it looked like to begin with.”

In words and pictures, the participants developed plans for the 300-foot wall along side the Metropolitan Branch Trail. They want it bright and vibrant with a feeling of hope and the possibility for change. Some suggested renderings of college, Abraham Lincoln, and famous DC monuments; others envisioned a more local, rooted design with images of children playing and smiling faces. One idea that caught attention was to utilize the history lesson from that morning to create a visual time-line of the Edgewood community. The Edgewood mural project team will meet weekly throughout the summer to create plans and execute the large-scale mural.

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For interviews and high resolution photos, please contact Massey Media at 202 518-6186.