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‘Blue Sky’ youth arts project moves to UD
A new summer program at the University of Dayton will bring in professional artists from around the country to create works of art with local young people.
The Blue Sky Project http://blueskydayton.org — founded in 2004 outside Chicago — has relocated to Dayton due to the partnership with UD.
The eight-week residency program will host five artists of various disciplines who were chosen from more than 60 applicants. Each will work with a small team of local teens and be assigned a local college student, who will work as a paid intern.
With the focus on collaboration, not a “teacher-student” relationship, founder Peter Benkendorf said teens work with, not under, artists who get to stretch their own boundaries as a result.
Program director is Mequitta Ahuja, who will open her second solo show in New York City on April 3. Final Blue Sky projects in the past have been shown in New York, featured in the “The New Yorker” and sold at ArtChicago.
“Blue Sky fits perfectly with the University of Dayton’s Marianist values of living and learning in community and reaching out to engage others,” said Paul Benson, dean of the UD College of Arts and Sciences. The university has pledged financial support for the program, two houses in the student neighborhood, use of ArtStreet studios and other arts buildings.
Participating artists will speak to local arts organizations and students. A final exhibition will take place in the Oregon Arts District in August, and studios will be open to the public whenever in session.
Benkendorf said he is excited about the possibility of expanding the model into other areas in Dayton, for example putting engineers and students together for a project built around environmental sustainability.
Go to http://blueskydayton.org to download an application, receive more information or view past exhibits. Applications are also available at any public library in Montgomery County and must be postmarked by May 1. http://blueskydayton.org/
The program begins Monday, June 15.
Here is a list of 2009 artists and their projects.
Seattle filmmaker Malic Amalya will explore the differences between how individuals see themselves and the world, and how others view them.
Baltimore painter Katherine Mann will create abstracts about the systems and relationships of small elements within a whole composition.
Chicago sculptor Lisa Nonken will examine the notion of public monuments and memorials.
Alan Strathmann, a sculpture, sound and video installation artist from Chicago, will investigate the intersection between nature and technology.
Dayton dancer and videographer Rodney Veal will translate everyday images into art using choreography and film.
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