Patio Gardeners
First on the Dance Floor
We’ve been a little quiet lately and for good reason. Diana’s working on a sculpture called Under the Table for later this month. It’s her most ambitious project to date and we’ve been plugging away at it for some time now.
We started a Kickstarter campaign this week that has exceeded our expectations. All the support from friends and fellow artists fills our souls for each new day in the studio. We’ll be rolling out these thank you videos throughout the month. These four are extra special because they were the first to step on the dance floor… The first contribution is always the hardest and these four couples didn’t hesitate to give a fellow artist a hand.
Arlen Parsa and Tiffany Wilson, our comrades in the food resistance, were kind enough to contribute to the campaign before Diana even got off the plane from her visit with family in Colombia. It was very pleasant surprise for her arrival to Chicago! Before we knew it, Karli Nelson and Nick Nummerdor, of Little Cabin Films, lent a hand. They’re also part of an amazing network of documentary filmmakers in Chicago. Their spreading roots in Humboldt Park along with another path-forging, power-couple, Anu Rana and B Rich. One is an official Columbia mentor of Mario’s the other someone he just follows cause she kicks ass. They’re documentary, Preserves, screened along with Mario’s over a year ago and they’ve gone on to earn a grant from Chicago Filmmakers to further develop the project… Our heroes!
Dimitri and Naomi Moore are the last couple in this batch of thank yous. Our favorite newlyweds left Chicago for San Francisco but their hearts stayed here. Watch out for these two. Dimitri’s DWM Producing is a force to be reckoned with and you’ll hear good things from him in the near future… Meet in a Public Place, is a short comedy that he brought together. You won’t want to miss it.
To these four supporters, we want to thank you for being the First on the Dance Floor!
Indulge in Batavia
One of the first undertakings The CG Project took on was a collaboration between us and People Made Visible where we presented a selection of documentaries called Growing Your Own. It featured short films about people that are taking more control over our food sources. Filmmakers included myself, Jeff Spitz, Arlen Parsa, Mitch Wenkus, Mary Horan, Patrick Lile and Grant Guiliano. The subject of Grant’s film about a Permaculture program at The University of Massachusetts went on to be honored by President Obama as one of his Champions of Change.
This year, People Made Visible invited us to present another series of short docs about food for Indulge, a gallery show at Water Street Studios in Batavia, IL. This time we narrowed the field to a smaller group of filmmakers that keep alive the tradition of exchanging knowledge about growing food. The Cinematic Garden and The Patio Gardeners will contribute a few videos from this painful growing season and Jeff Spitz will let us screen some excerpts from Food Patriots. For dessert, we’ll have a short film by Mode Project. The Donut Vault is about small bakery with an old world business model.
The screening will take place during an open studio event Saturday, July 21st from 6 to 9 pm at 160 S. Water Street in Batavia, IL. Come for the show and say to see work by the artists of Water Street Studios.
Imagine: hotdogs, funnel cakes, gummy bears, chocolate cake, bananas, ice cream, strawberries, crab legs, oysters, pasta, salads, water, beer, wine and champagne. Then imagine: 5-star restaurants, diners, food trucks, concession stands, farm stands and of course all you can eat buffet. Are you hungry now? This exhibition will take a closer look at one of our basic needs through the eyes of contemporary (perhaps starving) artists. Welcome to the smorgasbord. – A. Holm, People Made Visible
theCGproject 