Yarn bomb events begin Aug. 28
This fall, Augustana will seek the help of Quad-City citizens to "yarn bomb" a tree along 7th Avenue in Rock Island.
Artist Carol Hummel will work with the community on a public art project. College students, senior citizens, high school students and others will work with Hummel to create smaller crocheted pieces, which she will stitch together and install on a campus site for seven months.
Hummel has been active in collaborative public art installations in Switzerland, Norway, India, Mexico, and at many cities across the United States.
How to get involved
The active portion of the yarn bomb project is slated to begin Aug. 28, when several community partners, including Augustana and the Figge Art Museum, will host workshops. The finished work will remain on view for the entire academic year.
Workshops to learn about #YarnBombQC and how to crochet
Aug. 28, 1-4 p.m., Augustana College, Gerber Center, G?vle Room 3
Aug. 29, 5-8 p.m., Figge Art Museum, Davenport
Crochet-In events (knowledge of crocheting required)
Sept. 12 and Oct. 17, 6-8 p.m., Rozz-Tox, 2108 3rd Ave., Rock Island
Sept. 28 from 5-7 p.m. and Oct. 12 from 6-8 p.m., Figge Art Museum
Unveiling reception
Sunday, Oct. 29, 4-5 p.m., on the campus of Augustana College
Individuals and groups who wish to participate in the project may contact the art museum for more information.
Art work by the people
The National Endowment for the Arts awarded the Augustana Teaching Museum of Art a $15,000 grant to fund the project. It is the first NEA grant awarded to the college.
Hummel says her work is meant to traverse “the socially constructed constraints of difference by exploring the ties that bind human beings to each other through culture, kinship, history, social interaction and friendship.”
The project on Augustana’s campus, like much of the art by Hummel, will draw diverse sectors of communities together in a positive, celebratory way to create a major art work for the people, by the people.
“We’re very excited to involve not only our campus community but the larger Quad-Cities community in this fun project,” said Dr. Claire Kovacs, director of the Augustana Teaching Museum of Art.