Ann Arbor Art Fair: We Bear project a must-see at this year’s Summer Art Fair
In the depths of the Covid pandemic lockdown, 31 people isolated in prisons in the UK and US produced extraordinary artworks exploring personal experiences of incarceration. The exhibit will be featured this week during the Ann Arbor Art Fair.
UK Artist, Faye Claridge, invited participants creative responses to folk art paintings from the two countries, showing different treatment of captive bears. These, as metaphors, provided inspiration for the remarkable artworks presented in We Bear.
“The artists are people who have been incarcerated and the focus of the work is on isolation during the pandemic,” says Karen Delhey, executive director of the Summer Art Fair. “They were given an image of a bear in captivity and told to draw from inspirations from that. There are about 30 images and they are very powerful and fantastic to see. It’s been an amazing collaboration and they’ve been great to work with.”
Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair, Main Street & Liberty
Thursday – Friday, July 21 & 22 – 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 23rd – 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
With the Arts Council England support, We Bear is travelling to the US and will be showcased at the hugely popular Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair. The University of Michigan Prison Creative Arts Project (PCAP), has partnered in the project from conception and is now collaborating as co-curator for the art fair exhibit.
Join them, Thursday – Saturday, to experience the entire collection and leave your mark in the ongoing collaborative public art installation at the exhibit’s activity tent. And don’t miss their engaging live events just down the street, thanks to support from The Guild of Artistsand Artisans.
The Stage on Main, William & Main Street
Thursday, July 21st – 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Friday, July 22nd – 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
At the Stage on Main, in the parking lot next to Palio Restaurant at the corner of William & Main, hear first hand the captivating stories of artists who have created art inside prison, celebrate the spoken words of writers who are currently/formerly incarcerated, and be swept away by musical performances from the U of M Men’s Glee Club.
We Bear: Behind the Scenes
Thursday, July 14th – 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Registration Required: https://myumi.ch/pZrA2
Here’s your opportunity to get an exclusive look into the makings of the compelling international collaboration, We Bear. Join the online event and experience the project indepth, with behind-the-scenes documentation, engagement with participants, and additional insights into the art. Hear from project creator Faye Claridge, the artist participants, along with commissioners Coventry Biennial, UK prison education provider Novus, and the director of PCAP.
