Coinciding with "Open Studios '98NH2000" is the inauguration of a special project, "Interim Sites," an urban art initiative that seeks to expand the concept of public space by locating site-specific installations in places that are in transition or underutilized.
The first project in the "Interim Sites" project will be installed at 1156 Chapel St., former home of the Jewish Community Center and future home of the School of Art.
Titled "Progress Wall," the installation will illustrate historic, contemporary and future aspects of urban development in New Haven, with a focus on the Chapel Street building, which was built in 1954 and served as the Jewish Community Center through 1986. The structure was designed by Abramowitz & Weinstein Architects and features a facade designed by Louis I. Kahn. Yale purchased the building in 1996.
The "Progress Wall" will be composed of transluscent panels containing archival and current images, text, recorded sound and lighting. Construction of the wall will begin in May and continue throughout the summer. Public response to the project -- including oral narratives, written text and visual images -- will be gathered at 1140 Chapel St. by volunteers during the "Open Studios" celebration on Saturday and Sunday, May 16 and 17. (See related story, page 1.) The information and opinions collected from the community will be added to the "Progress Wall."
"Interim Sites" was founded in 1994 by a group of Yale graduate students -- including School of Architecture students Dean Sakamoto, Kevin Owens and Won Chang, and School of Art students Todd Ayoung, Melissa Brown and David Reinfurt -- along with New Haven photographer Marianne Bernstein. It is jointly funded by Yale's Office of the Deputy Provost for the Arts, the Schools of Art and Architecture, the Office of New Haven Affairs and the Office of University Planning, along with New England Fine Arts, Chapel West Special Services District and private donors Murray Lender, Barry Herman, C.A. White Realtors and the Colony Inn.
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