Client: COLLABORATORS: Mt. San Antonio Gardens Retirement Community, Boys and Girls Clubs, Scripps College
Location: Claremont, CA, United States
Completion date: 2022
Artwork budget: $150,000
Project Team
Artistic Vision
Elizabeth Turk
Elizabeth Turk Studios
Head of Photography
Erik Thienes
Floating Lantern Production Co
Head of Choreography
Lara Wilson
The Assembly Dance Company Co
Overview
The idea of playing or freely gathering during a pandemic was impossible to conceive in 2020. Look Up dared to bring communities together safely to give them a new way of looking at themselves. And, as a result, they created a new lens through which the world saw them.
Goals
CONNECTING COMMUNITIES THROUGH CREATIVITY
1. Isolation and fear being the challenge of 2020-2022, we approached nonprofit communities trying to bring generations together using a common platform of a creative artistic experience.
2. Bridging the gap in communication and physical interaction, multigenerational participation was essential to the vision of Look Up.
3. The event developed so individuals exchanged their stories when the totality of the kaleidoscopic and abstracted artworks were revealed. This was imperative as it underscored the commonalities and participants learned the significance of their movements from above, outside themselves, and as part of a greater whole.
Process
DEVELOPING THE SOCIAL SCULPTURE
1. Look Up required courage from every person who participated. Each individual was a vital pixel in the kaleidoscope that is Look Up. Venues were mapped in detail to ensure social distancing and safety. Volunteers rehearsed movements and interactive video conferencing was scheduled.
2. The foundation of Look Up was built by asking in advance; "What do you tell yourself when faced with adversity?". The responses were presented as a community haiku. In this period when we couldn't touch physically, intimate anonymous communication was started.
3. Working with local museums near the collaborator's locations enabled communities to share the experience, taking ownership of the artifacts produced (video, photographs, testimonials).
Additional Information
In this world where we are often together yet isolated and fearful, the participant testimonials (see ETProjects.foundation Look Up) proved the power and magic that creativity can bring to community mental health.