
thirdspacearts
Melissa Raman Molitor, ATR-BC, LCPC
Virtual Artist Talk: Indira Johnson 'Ten Thousand Ripples'
Thu, May 20
|Zoom
Learn about the Buddha head sculptures in and around Evanston as artist Indira Johnson talks about the community peace project behind the art.


Time & Location
May 20, 2021, 6:00 PM – 6:45 PM
Zoom
About the Event
Indira Freitas Johnson is an award-winning artist, educator and peace activist whose work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. She is represented in a number of private and public collections, has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards, and was named Chicago Magazine's 2013 Chicagoan of the Year.
Johnson’s passion to make art part of everyday life and to involve local communities in the art process is evident in all her work. Ten Thousand Ripples, (TTR) Johnson’s ongoing Chicago area Public Art, Peace and Civic Engagement initiative uses art as a catalyst for conversations about peace and nonviolence. Artists, stakeholders, and residents were at the center of the year-long community-driven planning effort, which incorporated input from various community constituents including secular and faith-based leaders.
Johnson will discuss the social and political use of public space and how the concept of “public” is not fixed but changes constantly. The Emerging Buddha sculptures occupied sites chosen by each community and were subsequently transformed by the environmental forces inherent to each site, whether an abandoned lot or a community garden, a place of violence or a school entrance. Just by being present they invited a reconsideration of meanings and associations and encouraged new viewpoints.