Information Forum
This forum is designed to present information and promote the exchange of proposals regarding art resource activities with low-cost, local materials. Informal communications from visitors to this site will be moderated and published periodically at our Yahoo Group, The Art Resource Community Development Group, while formal proposals of common interest will be periodically posted in the Community exchange section of this site.
The statements in this section are very brief summaries of very challenging concerns. The concerns are universal, however, and it is hoped that they will resonate with visitors around the world. Although our main ambition is to meet needs in regions where poverty is most widespread, we hope visitors everywhere will find ways to also meet needs at their own doorstep.
For each of the topics, we offer a few simple suggestions on the basis of our experiences in Central America. If you would like to submit information about similar art resource efforts in other regions, please send it in an email to resources@swetcharnik.com.
We hope to publish more detailed analyses of these areas of concern. For now, we hope the following summaries will serve as a catalyst for more art resource initiatives.
- Artists - The use of indigenous materials by aspiring professional artists
- Artisans - Production of handicrafts based on indigenous materials and designs
- Art education - Curricular development and teacher training with indigenous materials
- Neighborhood beautification - Community and school-based projects with local art resources
- At-risk youth projects - Neighborhood beautification responses to gang and graffiti problems
- Environmental policy - Encouraging artisanal production with appropriate regional resources
- Eco-cultural tourism - Promoting and employing indigenous art traditions to attract tourism
- Service learning - Student internships, training and participation in developmentprojects
- Reality checks - Sharing insights about difficulties and dangers indevelopment work
- References - Informational links, contacts, sources, and bibliographies
Material for this forum has been provided mainly by William Swetcharnik, founder and director of the Latin American Art Resource Project (LAARP).