SLOUP #12 - Grant Proposal

FRESH BREAD has a new cousin - edible prints on tortillas! Come support this project by voting for it at the SLOUP #12 grant proposal dinner at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis on Sunday, January 30, 2011 from 6-8 pm. It's easy, you pay $10 towards the grant, VOTE FOR IT, and in exchange, you get a delicious meal of soup and bread provided by Local Harvest! All the money goes to the winning grant proposal!!! (see proposal below)

SLOUP #12
proposal: Cherokee Street: A Collaboratory for Edible Ideas
facilitators: Eric Woods (Firecracker Press, Owner/Printmaker) and Kim Wardenburg (Artist/Printmaker)

            The establishment of community is almost always thought of in positive terms, but the borders and common characteristics that define a community can also create divisions within or around it. Kim Wardenburg took this as the underlying theme when she began a series of edible prints on flatbread, in contemplation of the significance of covenant and community in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While FRESH BREAD was very successful in stirring conversation, it is hard to gage any immediate or lasting impact, due to the geographical distance of the issue in comparison to the involved community. Thus, currently, Eric Woods and Wardenburg are now reconsidering the themes in FRESH BREAD and the possibilities of stimulating conversation and positive community relationships in a localized context: the Cherokee Street neighborhood of St. Louis.

            Cherokee St. boasts a socially and culturally diverse community of individuals who have invested their lives and families into the growth and future of the neighborhood. In an effort to facilitate cross-community converg­ence on Cherokee, project coordinators Eric Woods and Kim Wardenburg are collaborating with Carlos Dominguez of Latino Americana Restaurant, as well as Ana Rivera of El Chico Bakery and other participants from the neighborhood, to serve up the "Printmakers' Special"—a taco meal complete with edible, printed tortillas inspired by the people of Cherokee Street!

·       Inspiration: Interviews and conversations held prior to the conference with local business owners and residents.

·       Focus: The importance of developing community and the impact of family-run businesses on the progress of the neighborhood.

·       Materials: Interviews will be translated into imagery and printed on corn tortillas with edible ink. Additionally, plates, napkins, and the tissue wrapping each taco will be printed, making an edible, printed (and delicious) meal.

·       Date: Friday, March 18^th, 2011, concurrent with the SGCI Printmaking Conference.

·       Intent: This project is an opportunity for the local community to voice their impressions of the neighborhood and introduce Cherokee Street to the 1500+ visitors who will be there for the conference.

·       SLOUP’s involvement will extend the aspect of community involvement in the project even further, beyond Cherokee to the rest of St. Louis. If this project receives SLOUP funding, the money will pay for:

o      the cost of ingredients for the edible ink and the corn tortillas

o      silk screens, emulsion, squeegees, and other materials for printing

o      food-safe letterpress ink for napkins, cups, and tissue paper.

Should you need more creative inspiration after tonight, look up the work of Sister Mary Corita—printmaking nun extraordinaire and instigator of social change via serigraphy.