art in process
at The Art Base, Basalt, CO
if only this moment
For the month of January I am taking over the street-side gallery space at The Art Base in downtown Basalt. I am setting up an active creative space, open to the public, that is committed to celebrating and exploring the creative process. This installation is dependent on public participation and will show only work generated in collaboration and from conversations within that month.
This fourth installment of ‘art in process’ focuses on creativity as a collective force for a better future. If we only have this moment, how do we choose to spend our time and energy? How does context influence perceived value? How do we celebrate the power of collective wellbeing and mutuality? The gallery space will be equipped for individual and collaborative art-making and creative exploration.
My job is to hold space for connection with open and honest conversation and to host a safe, welcoming and vital creative space for any and everyone to enter and creatively express themselves. This work and installation is in honor of my history with the community art center (I am a product of its past) and the promise of its future.
This fourth installment of ‘art in process’ focuses on creativity as a collective force for a better future. If we only have this moment, how do we choose to spend our time and energy? How does context influence perceived value? How do we celebrate the power of collective wellbeing and mutuality? The gallery space will be equipped for individual and collaborative art-making and creative exploration.
My job is to hold space for connection with open and honest conversation and to host a safe, welcoming and vital creative space for any and everyone to enter and creatively express themselves. This work and installation is in honor of my history with the community art center (I am a product of its past) and the promise of its future.
Open: Tues-Sat, 12-5pm
Closing Celebration: Jan 31st, 5-7pm
History of ‘art in process’
The Art Center was founded when I was 16 by my mother, artist/art educator Deborah Jones. As a young person, it was exceptional to have access to a community space and programming that celebrated equal access to creative expression for all ages and abilities. Art as process was central to all programming, the workshops and mission of the art center..
When the Art Center relocated to this permanent home in downtown Basalt, the exhibition space and educational spaces were separated with the active creative space no longer visible to passersby. In 2020, I proposed an exhibition for the gallery that aimed to interrupt the perception of the art center as primarily a commercial space. Each installment of ‘art in process’ has been unique to its time and space, being informed by whomever has walked through the door.
Public participation has varied from simply witnessing the studio, to actively engaging in a creative process. These interactions have been unpredictable, challenging both myself as a hosting artist, and the visitors invited to earnestly engage in art-making as process—with the focus not on a final product. These installations all aimed to deepen the level of engagement and connection within our community.
For each iteration of ‘art in process’, I have committed to showing up and to be present with the interactions and the ideas that arise from honest conversations that naturally occur. My intention is for these conversations to lead to new ideas, perspectives, creative exploration, and potential collaboration. From the beginning, mutuality, deep respect, and a focus on process have been core tenets of this project, continuing to this day.