April 4, 2006, Peterborough, NH

"I am convinced there is a link between corrugated board and creativity. Its very valuelessness liberates us. Boxes, tubes, sheets of corrugated board - everything that lives between the good stuff and garbage - becomes a perfect partner for play. Rescued from trash, it asks only, "What do you want me to be?" Corrugated board is the DNA of creativity. Boxes, glue, tape, knives and a group of willing people can create anything. And have a great time doing it."
James Grashow, Artist (Redding, CT), Sharon Arts Guest Artist at Children And the Arts

Sharon Arts Center is thrilled to share news of a new collaboration with Children & The Arts for this spring’s 13th annual Festival! In an effort to provide expanded access to New England art and artists, Sharon Arts has made arrangements for renowned cardboard artist James Grashow to participate in a collaborative project and exhibition with area schools. As an organization with a sixty-year commitment to arts in the region, this event marks the beginning of an ambitious campaign to become a more accessible and valuable arts education resource to our community through expanded program offerings and wonderful new collaborations with schools and other non-profit groups.

We have invited James Grashow to work directly with children and teachers in the galleries in an effort to eliminate the distance between “famous artist” and young creative mind. The festival, developed by community art advocates, is aimed at showcasing the creativity of our youth, and exposing them to new and different art forms. In the past, Sharon Arts has participated by partnering with the committee to display artwork made by children at school. While this short-term exhibit has always been a success, we have realized that Sharon Arts can play a greater role in the day by connecting area children to our greatest resource- living, working artists.

“Our School AND our downtown Galleries are places where everyone is welcome to experience art in it’s many forms.”, said newly appointed Dir. Of Education Melanie McDonald. “We are hopeful that community collaborations such as this will help to make us a more accessible resource to our community filled with visitors of all ages and levels of arts experience. Art of today is designed for inquiry, experimentation, and when possible participation that can have a deep impact on the every day lives of families in our community.”

James Grashow’s work ranges in scale from large environmental installations through which a viewer can walk, to delicate houseplants, where a miniature world buds within a bouquet. A graduate of Pratt Institute, a Fulbright scholar, father and grandfather, James is convinced that magical art can be made from the most mundane of materials. Constructing his pieces from Cardboard, paper, and occasionally wood, he is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the children of Peterborough to create a larger-than-life Aquarium of the Imagination, complete with corrugated creatures, real and mythical.

We are so pleased that our collaboration between Sharon Arts, the CIA Festival committee, and area schools will play such a large role in the day’s festivities. We are confident that the impact of James Grashow and his infectious energy will be something these children will never forget as they continue to test the boundaries of their creativity each year.

Currently 25 area schools with over 1200 students and nearly 40 teachers are scheduled to participate in various ways. Several events and workshops will lead up to an exhibition opening and of course the festival itself on Saturday, May 20th.

• On April 6th, the School at Sharon Arts hosted workshop for area teacher’s whose students will be working with Grashow and making work inspired by his processes and materials. 20 teachers and arts enrichment volunteers were on-hand.
• Throughout April and early May, Arts ConVal arts enrichment volunteers and Sharon Arts new Director of Education Melanie McDonald will visit with 300 students to make presentations about Grashow’s work as a part of their successful FACTS (famous artists come to school) program. FACTS, usually focuses on artists of the past who have made their mark on art history. This Spring, the artist will be real, students will see examples of his work, and will be fueled to work as his apprentices to create an interactive exhibition that will be the focus of this year’s festival.
• May 16 – 19th: Selected classes (a total of approximately 100 students) will make corrugated 3-d work with James Grashow that will become a part of an installation called “Aquarium of the Imagination” which will open on Friday, May 19th (the evening before the Children And the Arts Festival begins). Through our close collaboration with the Children And the Arts Committee, we have been working to schedule workshop times where children from Elementary, Middle, and High School will all work with James in the two weeks leading up to the opening reception.
• May 20th: James Grashow will be at the Sharon Arts Galleries throughout the day to meet artists and their families. “Aquarium of the Imagination” will be open to public. Many of the pieces constructed will also parade through town as a part of the annual festival’s celebration.
• May 22-27th: Over 700 students from 12 area schools throughout the Monadnock region will be participating in interactive educational field trips to the “Aquarium of the Imagination” Exhibition for tours and activities to explore the magic of Cardboard art and the limitless capacity of the imagination!!!!

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