Artist Mark Strandquist poses a question.
“Have you ever lost access to an important personal, physical, mental or metaphorical place?”
He is gathering memories of these lost places, he explains, for a project he is calling Write Home Soon.
On a recent visit to Street Sense, Strandquist asked the newspaper’s homeless and formerly homeless vendors to create postcards of these vanished or inaccessible places, using words, drawings or pictures cut out of magazines. Since August, Strandquist has held similar workshops at prisons, shelters, libraries, mental health and addiction recovery clinics, as well as at studios for disabled artists.
He has also visited arts centers and galleries, inviting people to participate in the project, and is encouraging anyone else who wishes to create and send in a card.
His project will be featured in an exhibit opening Oct. 25 at the Art Museum of the Americas.The exhibit, entitled The Ripple Effect: Currents of Socially Engaged Art, highlights collaborative, participatory and practice-based projects by artists from Latin America and the United States. The works examine issues such as the environmental impact of illegal dumping, the social stratification of Washington, D.C. and the struggle against violence in Mexico.
Strandquist’s postcards will be suspended from the ceiling, along with hundreds of others from around the country. In his project, Strandquist said he is seeking to provide a space for individuals to express themselves and to give a voice to stories that are often ignored by the popular media. His goal is to make art accessible to everyone.
“Every individual featured in this project has a unique and challenging story. Our society rarely listens,” said Strandquist. “Anybody, regardless of social standing can have their art in exhibits.”
Strandquist, who grew up in D.C,. has been a part of the music and punk scene in the area and says that he has strong connections to local and political postcards courtesy of mark strandquist activism. He has traditionally worked as a photographer or filmmaker.
“I’ve always been drawn to art that has a social element to it,” said Strandquist.
The goal of this project is to democratize the creation, exhibition and consumption of art, he said.
The postcards are all anonyomous, the viewers of the exhibit create their meanings and associations. Strandquist said that although art can sometimes seem detached and remote from the viewer, he hopes that visitors of this exhibit will enjoy the interactive qualities they find in his work.
They will be able pick up the postcards and tangibly connect with the memories.
“Theres something about postcards that have a heightened level of intimacy,” Strandquist said.
He hopes that empathy and understanding will arise. It’s important for the project to provide space for viewers to interact and participate in the story, resulting in an intimate connection, the artist said.
He believes many of society’s problems arise because we are alienated from one another. His work focuses on breaking down the alienation and inspiring creative discourse and engagement.
The exhibit, which opens with a 6 to 8 p.m. reception on Oct. 25, will remain on view until Jan. 13.
