“This is Who We Are,” Anythink’s collaborative public art project, kicks off Monday, July 11, at Anythink Bennett with a community meeting from 6-7:30 pm. Bennett residents of all ages are invited to learn more about the project and its theme –“Life on the Eastern Plains.” They will also get an opportunity to meet Colorado mixed-media artist Deidre Adams who is working on the project. Adams will use stories collected from community members to help shape the piece to be displayed at Anythink Bennett. The end result will be a painted quilt that reflects the spirit of the library and the community.

During the community meeting, interested participants can sign up for a 15-minute interview session with Adams on Monday, July 18, where their stories will be recorded as part of the oral history portion of the project. Participants can meet with Adams individually or as a family and are encouraged to bring items like scraps of fabric, photos or old letters that represent their lives on the plains and aid in the storytelling. Adams will incorporate the spirit of these elements into a large, museum-quality quilt that reflects the personal accounts of Bennett residents.

Adams is a Colorado artist whose abstract style evokes the ethos of prairie living with its simplicity, textures, and moods. The quilt that Adams produces promises to be an uplifting, daring work of art that creates an emotional space of meaningful expression for the Bennett community.

As part of “This is Who We Are,” Anythink Bennett will be the first library in the district to feature community-inspired artwork. The goal of the project is to pair local artists with library customers and community members to create public art that will be displayed at each of Anythink’s seven locations in Adams County. All of the exhibits will reflect the character of the communities in which they’re created and the identities of the people involved. The media used for each of the art installations will range from sculpture and painting to sound and light to digital imagery and the written word.

This project was made possible by funds raised at the Rangeview Library Friends Foundation’s 2010 fundraising event, Sparkopolis.

Event Details

“This is Who We Are”
Community Meeting
Anythink Bennett
Monday, July 11, 2011
6-7:30 pm
495 Seventh St.
Bennett, CO 80102

Meet artist Deidre Adams, share stories and learn more about how to contribute to Anythink Bennett’s collaborative public art project.