Uncommon Common Art is Turning Things Around in 2019

0 0

Uncommon Common Art is Turning Things Around in 2019
By Terry Havlos Drahos

Everything Uncommon Common Art does falls in two categories: public art and art education. For the past 11 years we have spent roughly 75% of our time and resources on presenting public art and 25% on delivering art education. This year we are switching things around, concentrating the majority of our efforts on art education and presenting a condensed public art exhibit.

Designing, managing, and financing a county-wide art project is a huge undertaking. Offering free access, as UCA does, makes our finances even more precarious because we do not sell tickets, and therefore don’t have a built-in revenue stream. In preparing finances for our 2019 season UCA, complications related to grants resulted in securing only 10% of what the exhibit costs. The bright side is that our education funding is secure and growing. So, we are shifting our efforts to match our finances.

UCA picked five exciting and interactive artworks that can be visited throughout the summer. Our 2019 exhibit will take place in the town of Wolfville from June through October. Wolfville was selected as the location because the town consistently supports UCA with long-term funding.
Shifting our focus to art education, we will double our school program from 40 to 80 classroom visits. We have also expanded our programming to include art with seniors through a pilot program at Wickwire Place Assisted Living Residence. These new and increased programs will be added to our regular schedule of an artist in residence program, a silkscreening opening event in June, artist talks in July, Art in the Garden Camp in July and August, and artist workshops in September.

The UCA board of directors, creative director, and curator are working on designing, managing, and financing a spectacular exhibit that will make 2020 worth the wait. In the meantime, UCA is doing what they do best, coming up with new ways to engage the community through public art. Keep an eye out for ephemeral art, and don’t miss what we have planned for the Apple Blossom Parade.

For more information about how you can support Uncommon Common Art, visit uncommoncommonart.com, or purchase a unique artwork from on of their four Eye Candy Machines. Machines can be found in Wolfville in the Acadia Cinema lobby and at the Box of Delights Bookstore, in Kentville at Hardware Gallery, and in Halifax at the Designer Craft Store on Marginal Street.

Photo: UCA Eye Candy Machine, photo by Terry Drahos

Happy
Happy
0 %
Sad
Sad
0 %
Excited
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
Angry
0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 %