On Saturday, May 31, 2014, Artfarms will be celebrating a big accomplishment in the form of a completed work of functional public art. The community is invited to come out to the Michigan-Riley Farm to see the handcrafted agri-sculpture designed and built by artisan Michael Beitz (starting at 1 pm).
The tree table sculpture will be unveiled at its new home, along with a bunch of trees that will be planted at the corner of Michigan and Laurel. On that day there will be a barbecue, kids activities, live music, farm tours, an interactive community art project hosted by Emerging Leaders in the Arts Buffalo (ELAB), as well as discussions about the future of the Artfarms initiative and directions moving forward. What was once a vacant lot will be brought to life by an artistic gesture that is both a symbol of the farm movement and an exercise in placemaking.
ELAB, Locust Street Art, and the Farmer Pirates Cooperative will be using the community table to host free art classes and farm-to-table dinners throughout the summer, incorporating foods grown at the neighboring Michigan-Riley Farm. The farm table is the first artistic gesture to be rolled out by Artfarms. The organization plans to plant a series of artistic flags throughout the East Side, on abandoned plots of land in months/year to come.
Artfarms launch event
Date: Saturday, May 31, 2014
Time: 1-5 p.m.
Location: Michigan-Riley Farm
Art Activities:
-Interactive mural project (ELAB)
-Kids painting activity (Locust Street Art)
-Sidewalk chalk, bubbles, hula hoops for kids
-Terra cotta pot painting for seed starters
-Farm tours
*Artfarms is supported by funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and Councilmember David Franczyk.
For additional updates, visit the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Artfarms
Lead image: Michael Beitz