June

Whirligigs and Wooden Jumping Jacks at Ardmore Park

A little rain didn't keep the residents of the Ardmore Park area from getting creative making whirligigs and Jumping Jacks. This smile tells the whole story!

Musical Fence at North End Community Circle BBQ

We were so excited to be invited to the North End Community Circle for their BBQ and to be asked to create a musical fencein Isleville Park. We loaded up the trailers all kinds of fun (and potentially noisy!) materials and objects. With the help of participants we created the Musical Fence which was then enjoyed by many people of all ages. We've since received several "thank you's" from parents whose children continue to vist and "play the fence".


We <3 community art!

Collaborative Printing at Dartmouth SWITCH

We are big supporters of SWITCH - on both sides of the Harbour! - so we excited to plan an activity for this year's DartmouthSWITCH. We wanted to have something fun that invovled both collaborative artmaking and bicycles - so we brought materials for bike tire printing (both mural-size and for your own personal t-shirt). The idea was you just rode your bike over the inked fabric and helped create a unique print of with your tracks. But participants were way more creative than that, and we had skateboarders, walkers, dancers and all kinds of prints being made. Lots of creative fun on a busy sunny Sunday!

100 in 1 Day

The 100 in 1 Day event was celebrating its second year in Halifax. We took this opportunity to help "transform" Halifax by making and installing flags and banners in various locations. We had worked with participants at Wonder'neath Open Studio in the week leading up to the event to create 100 flags/banners.

It was a very rainy day, but ... a little rain can't dampen our creative spirits!

WHEELS!!!!

WHEELS OPEN STUDIO AT 4C's office!

June 14 Noon to 4:30 pm, The 4Cs Foundation office is located at Suite 104 5663 Cornwallis St.
Wheels was lots of fun last on Saturday come out tomorrow for another day of wheel decorating!

Art Bikers will be at Dartmouth Switch!

Art Bikers will be at Dartmouth Switch!

Come visit us at the Findlay Centre on Prince Albert st. and Elliot st.

Dartmouth Switch will open the street on Sunday in Dartmouth on June 15th noon - 4pm. Switch is taking place during HRM Bike Week and will be a fun and safe family event promoting active transportation and physical activity in the HRM. Switch encourages people to enjoy the street in a new way by walking biking and moving around safely and comfortably on a 2km route.

Further information can be found at: http://switchhfx.ca/

I's the b'y(ker) that builds the boat...

Boat Building at Sullivans Pond

The Art Bikers ship sunk and left them stranded at Sullivans Pond! Luckily a jolly crew of locals worked together to build a new one! Together we explored nautical pennants, sail painting, wooden hull painting and building! We also shared our origami skills to make a fleet of paper boats!

It was a great turnout with individuals, families and local artists stopping by to participate.

This was a new community area for the Art Bikers and everyone was excited to have us there..."Thank you so much for coming to our community and making it even more beautiful!"

Avast Dartmouth...we'll be back!!

Glen Gardeners...

Garden Banners at Glen Garden, Fairview

This year we are happy to be working with ISIS, introducing the Art Bikers to a whole new community of friends! Our first project was to create family banners to mark the plots at this sweet, street-side community garden. This is an amazing neighborhood of mostly new immigrants who don't yet speak english, and for many it was their first time using paint! It's amazing how art builds bridges between us all!

Bike Fest

BIKE FEST - Why do you like your bike?

Sunday June 2nd was our first day as a team "in the field"! We loaded our carts with supplies and set up at Bike Fest at the Commons oval. We had a blast helping kids and adults alike decorate their helmets...and snapping portraits of participants in our funky little photobooth!

A reminder to check out more photos on our facebook page www.facebook.com/artbikers

Bi

WHEELS: Open Studio with the Art Bikers

WHEELS: Open Studio with the Art Bikers

The Art Bikers would like to thank everyone who participated in our art project!

Through the month of May we invited people to transform bike wheels into wondrous works of art. We also hosted our first open studio, where people could explore their creativity with the teams support and wide variety of materials.

We spent the day weaving, painting, collaging, decorating, singing, listening to live harp and meeting new friends! What a great way to kick of the Art Biker season!
Here are some of the creations:

And here is almost all of them installed in our front entryway!

We welcome you to come and view the artwork at the 4Cs Foundation office at 5663 Cornwallis St

Using the Creative Arts in Community Training Intensive June 13 – 17, 2011

This week we are at the "Using the Creative Arts in Community" training with Tessa Mendel. This training is offered by the 4Cs Foundation as a follow up to the Arts Engage! Symposium last year. We are learning together with six others from the Halifax community.

Areas will we be learning about include: design and facilitation of creative art programs; participatory experiences of different art forms (including theatre, dance, music and visual arts); approaches to personal and social transformation; using an anti-oppressive framework to work with issues of diversity, inclusivity and identity in different communities... and more. Whew! - sounds challenging and interesting. We'll let you know how it turns out.

Advice Exchange

On Sunday, May 29th we held our first event of this summer. A big street party was being held to commemorate Bike Week in Halifax. We set up an Advice Exchange booth to have people share their thoughts with strangers (and friends). The idea is simple: write down a piece of advice to receive a piece of advice. We made sure to document the results before people took their advice cards home with them.
Check out the photos on Art Bikers flickr!

New season, new team!

The Art Bikers team for the summer of 2011 includes; Karen Hawes, Elizabeth Johnson, Jacob Sutton, Martin Tonner, and Jyelle Vogel; with Rodrigo Hernandez-Gomez as Coordinator. We are excited to be meeting and creating community art with all kinds of folks throughout HRM in the next few months!
Stay tuned to this blog for updates on what we are doing and where we are going.
Your friends,
the Art Bikers.

Art Bikers LAUNCH! Saturday

On June 26th (weather permitting) the 4Cs ART BIKERS will be joined by friends for a bike parade through the downtown core and surrounding neighbourhoods launching the 4th year of the Hali-famous “taking art to the streets” summer program. Stopping along the way, the Art Bikers open up their trailers full of art making supplies offering fun, free art activities to everyone who wants to join in!

After three years of outrageous success and growth (over 3000+ children and community members making art together) Art Bikers return with their magnetic enthusiasm to spend loads of time in the community bringing children and their communities together to explore creativity and art-making at a neighbourhood level.

The Art Bikers Parade is on June 26th, 2010. Join the Art Bikers at any point along their route:

Victoria Park (approximately 11am),
Spring Garden Road Library (11:30am approximately),
the Grand Parade (1:30 approximately),
and the South Common (2:00pm).

Helmets and safe riding required!