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5 Foundations of STEPS Who is an ARTivist?

An ARTivist is an individual working independently or with a collective to bring about social change, using the arts (e.g. performance, visual arts, music, or otherwise) as a medium for dialogue, discussion, and debate. Public Space ARTivists use arts specifically to enliven the relationship between people and their local places.

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Public Space

Intended to be universally accessible, and historically used for public gatherings and debate, public space is increasingly either falling into neglect and disrepair, or else becoming privatized and the domain of the elite. STEPS believes that public space is crucial for community development and engagement; in fact it provides the very venue to discuss issues affecting the communities in which we work, live, and play. Broadly defined to include all aspects of the creative process, STEPS interpretation of art is not limited to the creation of art by professional or trained artists. Art is unique in its ability to connect with a diverse range of individuals and groups. Furthermore, the arts are often able to bridge divides between diverse segments of the population, to engage communities in a common dialogue, which is key in using arts for social change. Although understood in a variety of ways, activism generally aims to bring about social change through the questioning of current practices and social norms. By actively engaging with communities in public spaces, STEPS believes we can reconceptualise our relationships with our environment and each other. Members of particular communities are experts in the strengths, needs, and challenges of their unique environments. STEPS is interested primarily in initiatives stemming from within communities themselves. An initiative that aims to create social change must engage the wider community. STEPS believes that a project must not exist in isolation, but must invite participation from the individuals and groups living or working in the community itself.

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You can be an ARTivist too! Take your first STEPS. Step 1: Question, Learn, Imagine
The first step in becoming an ARTivist is to question the assumptions of the places in which we live. Learn about the issues that affect your community. Can you imagine your community differently?

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Activism / Social Justice Grassroots

Step 2: Connect

You are not alone! Many people will have the same questions as you. Seek out others who are interested in similar issues, communities, or ways of engaging with these issues. The STEPS website is an excellent place to connect with other ARTivists in the field.

Initiative
The Sustainable Thinking and Expression on Public Space (STEPS) Initiative is a group of artists, activists, architects, and academics, collectively promoting sustainable and community-centred public spaces. We are committed to using art to challenge and change the ways in which public spaces are currently being used, especially in urban environments. STEPS aims to facilitate knowledge exchange and collaboration between individuals and grassroots collectives using art to engage citizens in transforming their local environments. STEPS is developing a series of tools which includes an online meeting ground where citizens can experience the work of their peers in other communities, and engage in dialogue on the growing movement of Public Space ARTivism (the use of art to enliven the relationship between people and their local places). STEPS is also developing tools for those who are interested in starting initiatives in their own communities, but who are unsure of where to begin, such as a Public Space ARTivism Manualfesto and a documentary film. We are conducting interviews with ARTivists, activists, and community groups and individuals supporting this type of work to collect information on the successes, challenges and lessons learned in grassroots public space ARTivism across Canada. Our findings will inform the creation of an international network of public space ARTivists and the resources mentioned above. Alexis Kane Speer, Founding Director info@stepsinitiative.com www.stepsinitiative.com

Community Engagement Meet Sharon

Sharon is an artist living in Vancouver who, in 2007, discovered the Means of Production garden in North China Creek Park in Vancouvers East side. The garden is a continually evolving public

Step 3: Express

After interviewing Public Space ARTivists, we gathered one common piece of advice: Just do it! As an ARTivist, you might not have all the answers, but you have the right questions and some key individuals/organizations around you for support. Its time to express your questions, ideas, thoughts, and visions to your community!

collaborative efforts and the exchange of ideas. There is something very interesting that happens when two or more people who dont necessarily know each other from different generations, different cultural backgrounds, different socioeconomic backgrounds can sit down across from one another. [Its] an opportunity to have conversations that wouldnt necessarily normally happen. Given Sharons deliberate aims to use public space to bring communities together through sustainable art, does she consider herself an activist? I hate to use the term activist because I think theres so many people that are so much more political out there than I am. But certainly, in a very soft way, I guess you could call me a gentle activist. Sharon believes that theres an element of [social activism] in any work that is working with people in that sense.
Photos provided by Sharon Kallis

art project that engages community artists in interpreting and using the space. Sharon, along with two other artists (including the gardens founder, Oliver Kellhammer) and the support of the Environmental Youth Alliance, created the Means of Production Artists Raw Resource Collective (MOPARRC) in 2008. MOPARRC partners with community members to grow species that can be used as raw artists materials, and then uses these materials to engage community members in the collaborative creation of installation art projects on site. By collaborating with community members, MOPARRC facilitates a sense of community that is often lacking in North American society today. As Sharon states, Several generations or cultures have grown up being accustomed to being shuttled out to the suburbs and holed up in a little house without that kind of common ground, common space to share. By gardening and creating together, a community is built through

Meet Steve & Lisa

Steve founded Well and Good in 2005, an initiative that originated from Steves support of local Toronto artists through his clothing shop. Artists were free to display their work on the shops walls and as Steve recalls, People would ask why I did it. I opened [the shop] up, free of charge Heres a space for people to use. And my response was, Im just doing well and good. And thats what we continue to do. Lisa joined the team three years ago, and together they continue to support and advocate for graffiti artists (also known as aerosol artists) and street artists, working to change public opinion of the art forms, finding or creating street art projects, and liaising between the artists and community. They see graffiti art or murals in public spaces as a way to bring people together. People come together to share an experience In working with aerosol artists, Steve and Lisa often face the negative connotations of graffiti. Yet Steve is quick to respond, I dont want to discount the graffiti part, because thats where these talented artists have come from. And as Lisa states, This is a strong and vibrant culture, and its only going to get stronger. Its not ever going to go away. Its a type of expression that came from the marginalized who were shut
Poster created by Alexis Kane Speer, Bethany Elliott, Helen Hao Wen Huang, and Sheetal Lodhia.
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thats outdoors thats not limited to how much money you have. Language isnt an issue. Age isnt an issue. This artwork often serves as touchstone for the community and a point of pride in a neighbourhood. Furthermore, in the tradition of graffiti/street art, artists are able to talk back to the advertisements bombarding most outdoor public spaces. out of art school the outsiders. Its a viable means of communication. As Lisa and Steve show STEPS one of the murals they helped to create in Chinatown, multiple people passing by stopped to take pictures of the wall. Be sure to keep your eyes open for what is being said through the street art in your neighbourhood!
Photos provided by Steve Ferrara, and Lisa Martin Portrait of Steve Ferrara, and Lisa Martin by Eugen Sakhnenko

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