Announcing the First “Hanging Gardens, Woven Fences” Project for 2nd Annual Grand Avenue Festival

CALLING ANYONE WITH OR WITHOUT A GREEN THUMB TO CREATE FANTASY GARDENS ALONG GRAND AVENUE FOR SEPTEMBER FESTIVAL

As part of this year’s upcoming 2nd Annual Grand Avenue Festival, slated to take place all day on September 25th, the Kooky Krafts Shop will be hosting a “Hanging Gardens, Woven Fences” project along Lower Grand Avenue. The $15 entry fee will be donated in its entirety to the Grand Avenue Merchants’ Association.

Hanging Gardens:  This component of the project will utilize existing trees along the street for installing temporary “guerilla gardens” which can be real or imagined. In other words, they can consist of actual living garden components or visual gardens created out of non-living materials, or a combination of both. Gardens can be hung from branches or wrapped around trunks in a non-invasive fashion (i.e without damaging the tree).  Participants are encouraged to use recycled or biodegradable materials whenever possible.

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Woven Fences:  The woven fence component of this project can be something actually woven through a fence, attached along the top of a fence, or created in advance and attached to a woven, concrete, wooden or wrought iron fence surface. Again, recycled materials are encouraged. Care must be taken not to damage the fence surface being decorated. All materials must be removed by the participant at the festival’s end (within 48 hours) unless the property owner expresses the wish to have it remain.

Artists/fabricators will be paired with property owners who would like to have projects installed on their trees or fences, with an emphasis on those that line Grand Avenue. A map of projects and participants will be provided to festival-goers. Participants are responsible for their own set up and break down at the end of the project.

If you are interested in participating, please email Beatrice Moore at muppetsrealmom@earthlink.net with a basic concept of your project, plus your name (or group name), address, email, and phone number. This information will be used to pair artists with property owners and the proper fence or tree for your particular project. Projects would need to be installed the day before, or early morning, on event day. For more information contact Beatrice Moore at 602.391.4016. Concepts can be mailed or delivered to Kooky Krafts Shop, 1500 Grand Avenue, Phoenix, AZ, 85007.

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ABOUT KOOKY KRAFTS SHOP

The Kooky Krafts Shop was opened in the Fall of 2009 and specializes in “queer, quirky, fun and fabulous” crafts made by local artists and crafters. The shop also carries quirky vintage crafts and interesting, hard-to-find craft supplies. The store is located on the corner of Grand and 15th Avenue, on Grand’s most eclectic corner next to Bikini Lounge, Sweets & Beats, and The Trunk Space and is in the heart of the Lower Grand Avenue arts and small business district.

ABOUT THE GRAND AVENUE FESTIVAL

The annual Grand Avenue Festival celebrates the unusual history of this historic street and the small businesses, arts, and interesting adaptive re-use projects that line this angled corridor to downtown Phoenix. The festival highlights adaptive re-use of commercial buildings, neighborhood sustainability, and recycling – while showcasing the one-of-a-kind small businesses and art venues that populate Grand Avenue and the vicinity. There will be tours of historic and hybrid commercial adaptive re-use projects; art exhibits; performances; installations; fashion shows; music; and merchandise that relate to the festival theme. For more info about the festival contact GrandAvePhoenix@gmail.com.

Call for Entries for the 2010 Trashy Sculpture Show

As a fundraiser for the Grand Avenue Merchants’ Association (GAMA), the Bragg’s Pie Factory, 1301 Grand Avenue, will host the 2nd Annual Trashy Sculpture Show on Saturday, September 25 as part of the quirky 2nd Annual Grand Avenue Festival.  The Trashy Sculpture Show will be one of many events taking place during the all day event along the Lower Grand Avenue Corridor.

All work for the exhibit must be made primarily out of trash or recycled materials, with a limit of 3 pieces per contributor and an entry fee of $ 10 per piece.  Works can be for sale (or not).  The entry fees will go directly to GAMA, and if work is sold, 70% of the proceeds will go to the artist with 30% donated to GAMA.  Children’s projects are welcome; entry fees will be waived for school groups.

The work should reflect a person’s ability to go out in the world in search of trash and discarded materials, fashioning discards into unique and interesting sculpture.  Creative, funky, fun, whimsical and unique are encouraged. The purpose of the show is to highlight the ingenuity and creativity used in finding and adapting trashy, throw-away materials into one-of-a-kind hand crafted sculptures.  Work that aspires to be “fine art” or work that is mass produced for sale elsewhere is discouraged.

The exhibit will be on display at the Pie Factory for the festival as well as during October and November for the First Fridays and 3rd Fridays of the month.  Work must be delivered to the site September 20 from noon to 4 pm.  All work that meets the above criteria will be exhibited.  For more information contact Beatrice Moore at 602.391.4016.

ABOUT THE GRAND AVENUE FESTIVAL AND GAMA
The Grand Avenue Festival celebrates the unusual history of this historic street and the small businesses, arts, and interesting adaptive re-use projects that line this angled corridor to downtown Phoenix. The festival highlights adaptive re-use of commercial buildings, neighborhood sustainability, and recycling – while showcasing the one-of-a-kind small businesses and art venues that populate Grand Avenue and vicinity. There will be tours of historic and hybrid commercial adaptive re-use projects; art exhibits; performances; installations; fashion shows; music; and merchandise that relate to the festival theme.  For more info about the festival contact: GrandAvePhoenix@gmail.com

The Grand Avenue Merchants Association is a group of citizens dedicated to promoting the Lower Grand Avenue corridor and who own property or maintain businesses along, or in the vicinity of, this historic section of Grand Avenue.

Save the Date! Announcing the 2nd Annual Grand Avenue Festival!

Mark your calendar! The 2nd Annual Grand Avenue Festival will be held on Saturday, September 25, 2010! You won’t want to miss this day of art, music, fashion, and more celebrating the vibrant culture of the Lower Grand Avenue arts & small business district. We had a great time last year and this year will be even bigger and better!

If you would like to get involved in the Grand Avenue Festival, please email GrandAvePhoenix@gmail.com. Planning committee meetings will be held on the third Wednesday of every month at 5:30 pm. Email for meeting location.