The COVID Pivot

Due to challenges with in-person engagement, my original proposal for the Water Way(s) Project, a site-specific and multidisciplinary art-making and educational project, has been put on hold. Along with the Water Way(s) team—Christine Hart and Felicity Ratté—we conceived of a new project that brings together local artists and community partners to support both the vibrancy and healthy hand hygiene of Downtown Brattleboro. Partners include Brattleboro Housing Opportunities, Downtown Brattleboro Alliance, Out in the Open and JK Adams. The Handy Station Project has completed an extensive prototype process and received a grant from Thomas Thompson Trust. With funding secured for the first 7 stations, adoptive businesses and artistic collaborators are setting to work on the first few. An exciting youth engagement part of this project is a free Family Course in Coding with Bob Parks, where youth and guardians learn how to build motion-activated dispensers and apply that knowledge around their own homes. TAF funds have been applied to artist participation in the prototyping and will also be used to support the curatorial participation of local social justice organizations. https://www.artswindhamcounty.org/taf