Latest news with #communityart
Vogue
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Vogue
Blanketed in Meaning: The Great Elephant Migration Reaches a Ceremonial Finale in Beverly Hills
On Friday evening, in the heart of Beverly Hills, a convoy of brightly decorated trucks—festooned in traditional Indian lorry art—pulled into the Eva and Marc Stern Arrival Court at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. Inside them: 100 life-sized elephant sculptures, made not of stone or bronze but of a humble invasive plant. This was the final stop of The Great Elephant Migration—a 5,000-mile public art journey that has moved through cities, tribal lands, and national parks across the United States—and the elephants arrived swathed in something new: more than 70 bespoke blankets, created by designers and Indigenous communities around the world in a ceremonial offering called 'Wrapped in History.' Photo: Victor Arriola/ Photo: Victor Arriola/ The sculptures themselves are the work of the Real Elephant Collective, a sustainable, community-owned enterprise of 200 Indigenous artisans from India's Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Using Lantana camara—an aggressive weed that chokes native forests—the artisans spent years handcrafting each elephant based on a real-life counterpart. Bulls, cows, calves, and tuskers were shaped with anatomical precision, their forms bent and woven from dried reeds in a process as environmentally conscious as it was emotionally resonant. The stop in Los Angeles marked the first time the Real Elephant Collective had joined the US tour in person—representing a powerful reunion between creator and creation. Ruth Ganesh, Kristin Davis Photo: Victor Arriola/ Photo: Victor Arriola/ Since debuting during the pandemic in London's Hyde Park, the herd has trotted through Newport, Manhattan, Miami Beach, Jackson Hole, and more. But Los Angeles was something different: a ceremonial close, a new artistic layer, and a powerful gesture of reverence. 'Blankets are wrapped around members of the community as a sign of respect,' said Ruth Ganesh, the UK-born conservationist and co-creator of the project. 'This echoes traditions across many Indigenous cultures, where blankets symbolize protection, honor, and belonging. In the context of the Migration, each draped elephant becomes a living monument—wrapped in collective memory and care.' Photo: Victor Arriola/ Photo: Victor Arriola/ The idea for the blanketing was born last fall, during an All Night Smoke hosted by the Blackfeet Nation, where Ganesh saw elders and guests alike arrive wrapped in traditional blankets. What followed was a new curatorial initiative led by Indian designer Vikram Goyal, who invited collaborators from the worlds of fashion, Indigenous craft, and textile heritage to create ceremonial pieces—each infused with ancestral motifs and messages of coexistence. Kristin Davis Photo: Victor Arriola/ Olubi Mairumbi, Karin Betts, Luke Maamai Photo: Victor Arriola/ 'In Indigenous cultures around the world, blankets hold profound significance,' said Goyal, who contributed his own design. 'They are often intricately woven with traditional patterns and colors, representing a tribe's history, identity, and spiritual beliefs.' Goyal's blanket took inspiration from his repoussé metalwork, translating a gilded wall sculpture—based on a 17th-century Rajput manuscript called The Book of Dreams—into an embroidered textile layered with symbols of good fortune: the Gajaraja (Elephant King), Gajasimha (Elephant-Lion), blackbuck antelope, and parrots in a flowering tree. Other contributors to 'Wrapped in History' included Ralph Lauren, Tarun Tahiliani, Sabyasachi, Diane von Furstenberg, Johanna Ortiz, Ozwald Boateng, and the Navajo Nation, alongside India's craft communities and schools like Chanakya, whose women artisans stitched together a textile map of India using techniques drawn from the Deccan plateau to Assam. 'Craft has always evolved within contemporary frameworks,' Goyal noted. 'Textile has long led by this example.'
BBC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Stourton Caundle village stile walking trail officially opens
A walking trail with specially enhanced stiles, created by residents of a Dorset village, has been officially businesses, schools and local organisations "adopted" nine stiles in and around the village of Stourton Caundle, near gathered for the official opening of the two-mile (3km) loop trail taking in the various stiles made of stone, wood and other Catherine Speakman said it had brought "pride" to the village. She explained the idea originated when a new stile was put up in the village and she thought it would be fun to "take a paint brush out and make it a bit whacky"."I saw this as a win-win for everybody involved," she said. "For the landowners, someone else has adopted the stile and they're taking pride in it and are happy to maintain it."In turn that makes sure the footpaths are open, which the villagers have appreciated and it creates joy for them on a dog walk."This could be replicated anywhere, it's bringing value to landscape which is hidden or forgotten about."Everyone seems to have a different favourite so it's interesting to hear what people think when they return." The stiles include one made of local Marnhull stone. Others were decorated by pupils in the village primary school and members of the Countrymen UK Hannam, from metalworkers Dorset Forge, said they "embellished" one stile with metal tools, butterflies and a said: "I think its fantastic to encourage people out into the countryside, use the footpaths and look at some creative works."It encourages you to move to to the next one - it's a great idea." The walking route which takes in all the stiles starts and ends at the village pub, The Trooper will go towards community projects, including the village hall. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Council workers create owl carving from dead tree
A council has felled a dead horse chestnut tree and carved a barn owl from the stump. The tree at Hooks Corner in Cerne Abbas, Dorset, was planted in the 1980s by the village school's headmaster at the time, Dorset Council said. However, it was pronounced dead after failing to come into leaf this spring. An arboriculture team decided to create the owl as a reminder that "thoughtful acts still bloom in our community", the authority said. The tree was too thin for the usual practice of carving a seat from the trunk, according to the council. It said: "On this occasion, the team felling the tree... decided to try and carve an owl into the stump. "They had seen this demonstrated a month ago at a [arboriculture] trade show so thought they would give it a go." A council Facebook post included a poem from one of the tree workers, Nick Collins. It ends: "Though the tree is gone, its soul remains/ In wood and wings and soft refrains./ So raise your eyes where branches grew - The heart of Cerne still watches you." Residents replied with praise for the "beautiful poem" and "wonderful carving". You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Fallen tree turned into bench and sculpture Chainsaw artist carves new sculpture trail in park Tree stump transformed into woodland sculpture Dorset Council
BBC News
25-06-2025
- BBC News
Stourton Caundle residents create village stile walking trail
A walking trail with specially enhanced stiles has been created by residents of a Dorset and local organisations "adopted" nine stiles in and around the village of Stourton Caundle, near stiles include one made of local Marnhull stone. Others were decorated by pupils in the village primary school and members of the Countrymen UK Catherine Speakman said the idea came about when a new stile was built in the village last year and was seen as a "blank canvass". "I thought it would be fun to decorate them and it grew to local businesses, charities and artists all individually adopting a stile and creating a trail to go round all the historical elements of our village," she is hoped the two-mile (3km) trail will encourage people to learn more about the village's history and landscapeDavid Fox of the Countrymen UK charity described the group's effort as a "portal into the countryside"."Our chaps decided we'd like to do it as a doorway through the style and we've decorated it with all kinds of motifs of what our men do."The route starts and leaves from the village pub, The Trooper will go towards community projects, including the village hall. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
CTV News
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Fredericton artist gives home a ‘facelift'
It isn't the first eye catching art installation on his Fredericton property, but Brian MacKinnon's latest endeavour might be giving his home the biggest 'facelift' yet. The semi-retired physician's most recent project features around 250 people he has met over the course of his life. He has painted their faces all across the sides of his house and has 'jazzed up' what he believes are that person's biggest characteristics. He calls it: 'All Words Start with Love.' 'I wanted to make a really powerful work about a lot of people in my life presently and in the past,' MacKinnon said. 'I just kept going from one face and mask to another and the way I wanted to express it most powerfully was to make my house an artwork.' It took about 18 months from the time MacKinnon first came up with the idea to get the wrap around his home. The wrap itself is paint and ink baked into laminated vinyl, which is then backed onto an aluminum composite product, the artist says. The faces on the house aren't necessarily close friends of MacKinnon. They could have been a co-worker, a distant relative, or even simply someone he saw taking the bus every day. Brian MacKinnon's House Artist Brian MacKinnon's house in Fredericton features around 250 unique faces. (Avery MacRae/CTV Atlantic) Friends of MacKinnon have pressed him to see if they made the cut, but he isn't giving anything away. 'If it's an adult, I can shut them down,' MacKinnon jokes. 'If it's a child, I try to say, 'Well, possibly you're up there, but I can't say.' I like the mystery and the surprise, and the part of the mystery is, hopefully, if they look at it again in a few months or next week they'll see something they're not seeing now. I think strong works do that, that you don't pick up everything right away.' He calls the work a 'private-public' installation of art. While the display is on his private property, he invites the community to come right up the house and get a close up look themselves. He hopes to take away the intimidation some people may feel when going to traditional art galleries or museums because they may not know much about art. Despite the fact the display has only been up for a little less than two weeks, word has travelled around the capital city quickly. 'It is just so much more detailed than I thought,' said Emma Boucher, who along with her sister, came to see the house themselves after seeing photos on Facebook. 'He let me step up and take a proper look at it not from just my car, and I'm thoroughly impressed. It is beautiful and they're all people that he knew, which I did not know. I think that's even more special.' Brian MacKinnon's House The faces on Brian MacKinnon's house in Fredericton are all of people known by the artist, with their biggest characteristics 'jazzed up.' (Avery MacRae/CTV Atlantic) The community support has been heartwarming for MacKinnon, who has even heard from old acquaintances who have either seen or heard about his home. He said he is humbled and honoured by all who have and will continue to stop by and see the work themselves. 'I want the work to mean something to the people who see it,' MacKinnon notes. 'I want it to evoke some emotion and if it doesn't, then it doesn't work for that person. I don't really care what the emotion is as it'll be different for each person.' MacKinnon isn't sure how long the faces will remain plastered along his home. 'They're mystified by how this is done, and if they come and see it up close, they'll get a better idea of what it's actually made of.' For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
