The People Listening...Oil on Canvas 2009 by Andrew Purchin

Photo by Scotty Brookie

Claymation for A Thousand Artists Video, Jon Bailiff, Jan Mcgeorge, Shelby Graham, Jules LaCour, Katerina Lanfranco, Scotty Brookie, Tibisay Strazzera, Andrew Purchin, Nick Ross, Christina Evans

Join us in January of 2013

Artist of all kinds, painters, sculptors, radical knitters, dancers, collage artists, print makers will descend on Washington D.C. to document and reflect on the presidential inauguration. It will be a beehive of creativity. We'll demonstrate the power of art and its practice, with no partisan political motivation to our presence. We'll make a statement for art, for it's importance to democracy and community.

What:

A Thousand Artists is a public art-making installation on the Washington Mall, which will occur on January 20 and 21st 2013.

On Inauguration Day on the Washington Mall, A thousand or more people in white jumpsuits and orange hats will be quietly making art, no matter who is president and no matter what the weather is.  These artists will neither be attacking or defending, they will be present: reflecting, innovating and creating.

On the day before the inauguration in  Washington DC, there will be sightings of people in white jumpsuits and orange hats making art everywhere – at the hotels, monuments, museums and tourist attractions.

There is a feeling of discovery and a vibe of creation that warms hearts in the middle of winter.

The Amtrak Art Train will leave on January 16th from Oakland and will pick up participants along the way to the inauguration.  The people on the train will be making art as they travel across the United States arriving in Washington DC on  Saturday January 19th.

Why:

A Thousand Artists sets a standard for citizens to engage in the skills of art making which include: receptivity, empathy and innovation.

What we do at the inauguration sets the tone for the next four years.  We are prioritizing  creativity, democracy and open non-judgmental communication across differences.

The practice of art making is nuanced and can bring people together and thus is an antidote to our polarized society.

The Making of Art is the Ultimate Democracy.

Creativity scores have been dropping over the last 10 -20 years.  "Newsweek" magazine August 2010 article on the “Creativity Crisis” alerts us to an alarming trend: since 1990, scores measuring the creativity of American children have declined annually.

When multitudes of people create art in public, more people will want to make art, and the more people engaged in the making, the more they become active, creative, and engaged citizens.

History:
Andrew Purchin created a painting while at the 2009 Presidential Inauguration and decided then to invite thousands of people to make art and reflect the moment at the 2013 Presidential Inauguration.