T-shirt Art Flyer Notes 10 8/3/2005 © by the Uptown Multi-Cultural Art Center - All Rights Reserved

Contents 1) T-shirt Art Harvest Fest Theme - "Don't Mourn - ORGANIZE!" 2) Field Report - Evanston Ethnic Art Fest "T-shirt Art Flyer Exhibit" 2) Cable TV Opportunity for Artists 3) VOLUNTEER FUN 4) BACKGROUND 5) ARTISTS - Sell Your Art T-shirt Art Harvest Fest Theme - "Don't Mourn - ORGANIZE!" The 16th annual "T-shirt Art Harvest Fest" with the theme, "Don’t Mourn - Organize," will show all weekend on September 16-18th with t-shirt art by Chicagoland artists. "Don’t Mourn - Organize!" - reflects themes in the art and life of the late Carlos Cortez, a long time member of our board. Artists are invited to display any of their art on t-shirts but all other art submitted must reflect the artist’s concept of "Don’t Mourn - Organize." Our T-shirt Art Flyer Exhibit will promote a drive to allow artists to sell their art freely along the lakefront public parks as an alternative to costly street and art fairs that help few emerging artists and prevent public contact with the majority of local artists. Our vehicle is Mayor Washington’s "Chicago Cultural Plan" which is posted on art-teez.org/cul_plan.htm. Enter your art and tell others about this event. Field Report Evanston Ethnic Art Fest "T-shirt Art Flyer Exhibit" Wow! Revelations. New understandings result from exhibiting art. For example, not all our fellow citizens think our first amendment rights to free speech applies at a public art fair. Realization - the "T-shirt Art Flyer Exhibit," because it is a true "art forum," it will, by its nature, test the validity of our first amendment rights as we expose the art through these public performances. How is this you ask? Come with me on this art action. . . I’ll show you what I mean. But wait, its hot work and it could be dangerous. "Its only art - Why are you so nervous Chris?" you kid me. "I’m not nervous," say I, "but have you read the back of the flyer? "Oh, the part about you can’t buy this art at this art fair and urge Evanston to lower artists fees?" "Yeah, that!" "Right on!" "OK, let’s jammmon!" We arrive from the south. First we walk through the grounds of the Evanston Ethnic Arts Festival. Lake Michigan is just over a barrier of rocks. It is sunny with a breeze. We both wear multi-artist shirts. When a mistake occurs in our screen print workshop for artists the t-shirt becomes open for further tests or screen cleaning pulls which result in shirts with many artists’ works on them. We know from exhibiting that they fascinate folk. Dawes Park is located between Church and Davis Streets which shoot west through the heart of Evanston’s commercial district. The lakefront and Sheridan Road bound the Festival on the east and west.The Evanston Ethnic Arts Festival seeks to present the region’s ethnic artists to the public and to showcase our many diverse cultures. The Evanston Arts Council, a City of Evanston funded agency, manages it. The concept is great and the City should be commended for the effort. Still, there are many ways to improve on its mission, if part of that mission is to help artists. We walk our bikes north slowly weaving through the press of people wandering in and out of venders’ booths. Hmong fabric arts, African carvings, Guatemalan quilts, artists and crafts people under 10’X10’ tent-tops on stilts line our way. I point out some of the venders I met over the last two years when we had a booth to sell our T-shirts through. We do not stop to chat. It is 3:00, hot and we are on a mission to deliver the "T-shirt Art Flyer Exhibit" to the Evanston Ethnic Arts Festival as volunteers of the Uptown Multi-Cultural Art Center. That is correct - we have no booth. We have only our humble flyers promoting the art on our website. They also invite one and all to urge Evanston to lower the fees charged to artists’ to sell their art at the Festival. At the far north end of Dawes Park, by the Festival information tent, we select a shady tree under which to begin to offer our "Flyer Art Exhibit" to the public. There are 44 different images and each person passing gets a different artwork on the front of their flyer. Some images are political, some cultural. A diverse group of Chicago artists contribute designs from our Screen Print Workshop. International artists add to this diversity by submitting to ART-ACT, our online "Anti-Racist T-shirt Art Contest Tour", with its pro-diversity/anti-racism theme. Together, these two sources provide a view of cultural/racial issues not very often experienced in the mainstream media. Our exhibit creates conversations - later - and occasionally, on the spot! "Say, Art? Like a question" I coach. "Offer a flyer to everyone you can make eye contact with. You may not agree with or even understand the message of every artwork you distribute but it is the art process that is important. It is the sharing of effort to create an art forum that builds a community art resource. The concept is for artists and volunteers to promote an open and growing group of artists using an open and growing exhibit of art on flyers and art-teez.org. The breeze and the shade allow us to cool off after the hot walk through the Festival. We pass the Exhibit without incident for twenty minutes. Then we decide to take the art to the people with a twenty-minute lazy roam from north to south through the Festival. I take the east side - you take the west side. "Art?" - "Art?" - "Art?" I make an extra effort to pass the art to venders. I have not given you any special instructions. These we still have to develop for future volunteers. A few people actually read the back but most glance at the front and pocket it. The venders seem to be extra curious though none say anything on first contact. An African-American lady who received a flyer from us before we began to move passed me by and said, "It’s a good thing that you are doing!" "Thanks!" I called after her. "Art? - Art?" I meet up with you at the southern end. I change into the "No Honor" t-shirt. "What is that about?" you ask. "This t-shirt strikes back at the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana and at all who tell the bold-ass lie that they are honoring Native Americans by supporting a mascot that insults Native traditions and culture. They came up with the ‘tradition’ at a time when segregation was the law in many states and a person of color’s opinion did not matter. To those people who support the Illiniwek mascot – Native opinions still do not matter. Tell the big lie for enough generations and induct all your freshman with it, pump millions of dollars promoting it for 70 years and magically it becomes ‘gospel’ or ‘tradition’. It’s a tradition all right, a tradition of racism." I rant, fist in the air, ha-ha. I am ready to defend my statement of choice. We trade sides. You head north on the east by the lake and I take the west. On my way north I see the lady who said we are doing a good thing. She is sitting in the exhibitor’s chair in a booth. She waves. "Of course," I realize, "she’s a vendor." "Art? . . . Art?. . ." Midway as I reach the lagoon, a teenage guy jogges across the lawn to ask me if my t-shirt refers to the University of Illinois mascot. I confirm it and he jogges back without indicating what his opinion is. "Art? . . . " The crowd is very mixed. It is international. They are receptive to art compared to other locations I have presented our exhibit at. When we meet up again, I art-flyer the people at the Festival Information Tent before taking a five-minute rest under our tree. We have only been at work for about an hour now. Our Plan is to work for about two hours and call it a success. Out comes my "Liar and a Thief" t-shirt. I wet it in the water fountain and wring it out. "How would you describe that t-shirt to a blind person?" you say with a laugh. "A thistly-leafless bush illustrating the truth of our lie-based policies undermining freedom and democracy at home and abroad!" You stop me with a palm to my face. You know I am about to cut loose. Better we art-flyer the public. Besides, I am eager to see how this t-shirt plays in this crowd. South we go. "Art: . . . Art? . . . Art?" I recognize from the glances at my t-shirt and an increase in my refusal rate that the message is being received. Others are more attracted because of my shirt’s art. I want to polarize our audience. I theorize that we need to polarize people to get anyone over the action-hump to view us online. We need discussion to create action. About fifteen minutes later we meet again on the south end, just before the latrine. As we meet up both strolling south, a tall muscled white guy in a white t-shirt with a badge printed on his left breast walks upon us and at our shoulders says "You can’t pass these out in here." "Yes we can." I say. "We have freedom of speech in this country." "You will have to pass them out outside the Art Fair." He points to the lonely area south of the Port-a-Potties in the direction we are ambling. "Oh no," I say laughing. "W can pass art out in the art fair and we will. You’ll have to arrest us!" His voice turns angry. "You’re going to jail". His hand radio crackles as he checks in. I look at you. You look at me. We both keep walking on past the latrine. Neither of us is ready to be arrested quite yet. We need to talk. Under the shade of a tree, away from the Festival we sit to cool off and discuss the issues. Is this just an irate cop taking this opportunity to hassle us on his own or has some fair official decided to pressure us for inviting the vending artists and the public to change festival policy? The backs of the flyers read in big type, "You can’t get this t-shirt art at the Evanston Ethnic Arts Fest" Below this in small type, "Urge Evanston to lower art fair fees to artists." Yes, we are using the "T-shirt Art Flyer Exhibit to fight for artists interests, for the first time. The artists in the Festival would not raise this issue because in a juried show the fear of rejection creates self-censorship. When I received our application for this Fest in the spring, I was still trying to find time between my three part-time jobs to complete our finances from last year. The Festival fees to artists had risen to $210, an increase of $30 over the previous year. We sold under a thousand dollars. The work, without pay, was enormous. The publicity was worth the effort, I thought, and yet I hesitated until the deadline passed. Other art fairs are even more expensive. Most exclude us because we are an arts organization and they want to jury only individual artists. The unjuried venues are street-fairs, which today have adjusted the public to paying "donations" to enter a public street. They also charge the artists for a piece of the public street to sell. After paying to enter the street fair the public is much less likely to buy from the artists who pay up front and take all the risk. Most emerging artists, who are trying to build an audience and to find their art products or niche, can not make enough money to participate. The first two rungs of the art latter are missing in the Chicago area. In a democracy, artists should be free to sell their work in public without excessive charges. We have sought for 15 years to build an organization to serve our community by teaching classes and selling local artists’ work to help fund ourselves. We are in the same economic position as the emerging artists we serve. It is time someone calls out for change. What can be done? Actually, the solution is simple. Encourage artists to use the lakefront as a year round art market. Right, costs nothing and creates an arts scene in Chicago like has never been. This simple act could make Chicago the art-Mecca of the Midwest. We decide to do something. I insist that you wait here while I return to try and get arrested. You are to wait 45 minutes for my return. Then if I don’t return, try to find out where I have been taken. Check with the Information Booth and then call my wife to let her know. I thank you for helping and walk back to the art fair. As I walk back to the Evanston Ethnic Arts Fair to defy the authorities by passing out a free public exhibit of art at a public art fair, I compose in my mind the press release following my arrest. "Art?. . . Art? . . . Art?" The security is nowhere to be found. The vender at the booth recognizes me before I do her. We have both aged. Jeanne Anthony is one of our contributing artists from the early nineties. She always had a clear vision of what she wanted to do with her art and she pursued it. We hug and talk. She introduces me to several others in the booth with her. I tell her about the security guard. "For what!" Jeanne exclaims after reading the flyer. We laugh. "You are still at it after all these years," She says. "You are too! Its good to see you still doing it." Jeanne Anthony dies her own patterns and makes unique cloths from her abstract painterly designs on clothe which she christens with titles that evoke the feeling of the design named. She is a mature artist with an established following. Still, I bet she would benefit from free access to Chicago’s lakefront for artists. She could have a regular booth on two Saturdays a month and make a living that would pass on benefits to tourism, to those she spent her earned money on and to that intangible thing we call "our standard of living." Multiply Jeanne by the thousands of artists who could potentially benefit and a simple change like allowing artists to sell their art along the lakefront public park lands. This alone could cause a renaissance in the arts. Several booths down from Jeanne, I meet Selena Awoleye. She informs me that she has finally gotten her 501(c)(3) Federal Tax exemption for her non-profit organization. She has worked to build for over ten years a program for women of color creating and selling their arts and imports at festivals. Her organization is in the same league as ours. She could use a $30-$100 break on her booth fees. She could make a name for herself and her arts program on the with a free regular spot on the lakefront. She laughs at the idea of arresting me for out passing art flyers. Quickly the conversation goes to how we must connect. She still does not have email and she needs it badly. I recommend the free computer class at the American Indian Center to her. We hug and promise to be in touch. "Art? . . . Art? . . . Art?" I complete another round of the fair without incident. It is late and I have had no success at being arrested. I return and tell you I will try again tomorrow (Sunday) but I think that cooler heads at the top likely laughed at the security guards request for backup to arrest artists passing out flyer-art. That’s the tour. What do you think? Would you do this to organize artists for a better future for all? (Coming soon, "Will Chris D. get arrested when he returns on Sunday?) PRIME TIME TV FEATURING YOU Workshop artists are INVITED to promote their art on our cable TV program on Thursday evenings (prime time) beginning July 7th at 6:30 on Channel 21. We will do 11 more shows. Contact us soon to show your art to the entire City of Chicago. Our program is one part screen print lesson, one part UM-CAC announcements and one part your art (featured artist). Chris Drew is the host and he will keep it fun for you. Call us at 773-561-7676 now. LETTER FROM THE FIELD (returning soon) VOLUNTEER FUN Every Wednesday evening meet at the American Indian Center in our Screen Print Workshop to inventory t-shirts and other desperately need tasks around the workshop. Help build and maintain the Screen Print Workshop every 4th Saturday, 7/23/05, of the month. Co-op policy meeting the last 20 minutes for workshop time every Sunday we meet. T-shirt Art Harvest Festival Deadline 9/13/05 - any art on a t-shirt. Other art on the theme "Don't Mourn - Organize!" See press release at http://art-teez.org/pr/harvest_fest-05.htm BACKGROUND We are building our organization slowly to be able to sell art on t-shirts to help fund an inner-city arts agency that hosts art classes for youth and other community residents. We have dedicated ourselves to this task without pay for 15 years because we know it is needed and that government and civic leaders have ignored our needs. We ask artists to respect this mission. ARTISTS - Sell Your Art< You receive $2.00 per t-shirt sold retail. We will be promoting the art we have licensed with increasing intensity in the coming months and years. Who is "we". We is any of you(pl.) who help. Our license agreement is "artist friendly" in that is pays an above industry standard and is not an exclusive contract. The artist is free to market their designs anywhere else including on their own website. We want to link your pages on our site to your site. How can you participate? Come to our Screen Print Workshop for Artists on Sundays from 3-6pm and learn how to print your art. Already know how to screen print? Come and show us your work. Your pens can change our world! Visit our Screen Print Workshop for Artists to find out more. ; >" C. Drew umcac@art-teez.org http://www.art-teez.org We dress Chicago and the Internet in Progressive T-shirt Art

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