Telling the story of the WPA...or what is a multimedia song cycle, anyway?
Now that we'd selected our moment in time, how could COSACOSA tell this tale of economic collapse and the possible redemption -- of the Great Depression and the Works Progress Administration? True to our mission, our first questions were: how will the communities we serve participate in the art-making process? What art form(s) would best engage our constituents?
We really could pick any type of art to share the story; COSACOSA's work is multidisciplinary. As we like to say, our projects range from mosaics to music, from painting to poetry, from interactive theater to intercommunity gardens. Ultimately, we decided to take our cue from one of the best known WPA programs, Federal Project Number One, which put artists across America to work writing original stories and scripts, collecting historical records, making music, producing plays, and creating new visual art. For our project, the more art forms, the merrier, we thought; the more ways for our community partners of all ages and backgrounds to participate.
So Spare A Dime combines collected histories with original writings, songs, visual art, old and new photographs, and animated projections. Just add audience and mix. It's a multimedia song cycle!
BTW, in a later post we'll talk more about Federal Project Number One (don't you love how the arts were prioritized in 1935?).
We really could pick any type of art to share the story; COSACOSA's work is multidisciplinary. As we like to say, our projects range from mosaics to music, from painting to poetry, from interactive theater to intercommunity gardens. Ultimately, we decided to take our cue from one of the best known WPA programs, Federal Project Number One, which put artists across America to work writing original stories and scripts, collecting historical records, making music, producing plays, and creating new visual art. For our project, the more art forms, the merrier, we thought; the more ways for our community partners of all ages and backgrounds to participate.
So Spare A Dime combines collected histories with original writings, songs, visual art, old and new photographs, and animated projections. Just add audience and mix. It's a multimedia song cycle!
BTW, in a later post we'll talk more about Federal Project Number One (don't you love how the arts were prioritized in 1935?).
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