Empty Lunch Sacks Feed the Community

How will bags, absent of food, nourish our neighbors?  What if I told you that a local art duo concocted an art-centric interactive food drive and dubbed it – The Have A Heart Project 2013.  Say what???  We, the Art Monkeys -John Gascot and myself, believe that art should be accessible, create dialogs and ultimately lead to social awareness and change.  This February rather than hopping on the Hallmark bandwagon of “love as commerce” we saw an opportunity to bring the public an authentic expression of “love as community.” 

Sharing a meal is a communal experience. Choosing a material that would remind the viewer of that reality was paramount.  Sooooo we decided to create original artwork on ordinary lunch bags.  Genius!  Based on the size of our gallery we knew we’d need hundreds of bags and placed a call to artists.  Glass artists, fiber artists, painters and potters answered the call. 1350 bags have been collected and are now installed from the molding to the floor, at the Workhouse Arts Center Building Four. 

Let me break down how this exhibition works.  Each bag can be purchased for a $10.00 donation.  100% of the donation will be used to purchase can goods for the Food For Others pantry.  As bags are removed from the studio, the space will be filled with non-perishable item.  The transition of the gallery will be documented with daily video and can be seen on our Facebook page.

Join us this Saturday, February 9, 2013, from 6:00pm-9:00pm for the opening reception.  The bags are going fast (we already sold 40+ in pre-sales) be sure to get yours before they are all gone.  Art for you and Food For Others!