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Colony: Figge
Make the connection. Take part in the evolution of Colony.
The Figge is working in collaboration with the FLUX Foundation to be the first “settlement” for the interactive installation pioneered by FLUX. Figge members and guests will be invited to interact with their own SNAPS (socially networked art panels) and each other to build a new Colony at the Figge. Colony: Figge will be the prototype for future installations as the colonization continues.
About COLONY
Colony began as an interactive, collaborative project of the FLUX Foundation sponsored by The Museum Group (TMG). Its first iteration was created at the 2012 American Alliance of Museums annual meeting in Minneapolis, MN, with 5,000 conference participants. TMG nominated the FLUX Foundation as their annual Thought Leader for the conference, inviting FLUX to present at the meeting and build an interactive, collaborative space of creation on site at the conference.
The installation required collaboration: conference participants were given one 8.5” SNAP and were asked to come to the Colony space and engage with other colleagues to build something together. Conference participants (including Figge Art Museum staff) descended on the FLUX space and jumped in with their SNAPs, decorating them with inspiring thoughts, ideas, funny decorations and doodles. They mixed and remixed their SNAPs with those of their colleagues, building a structure with new forms and possibilities, and escaping the predictable.
Constructed from cardboard and plywood, each piece in Colony installation was painted and cut by hand by an amazing team of volunteers in Oakland, CA, in FLUX’s workshop at American Steel Studios.
Why Colony: Figge?
The museum is always looking for fresh ways to engage our visitors and encourage participation. Figge staffers who took part in the original installation came away feeling engaged and inspired by the experience. They had contributed to a community and carried that sense of connection back to the Figge. The museum later reconnected with FLUX to work out a plan to share Colony with the Quad Cities community and become the first of hopefully many “settlements”. The FLUX Foundation mission statement sums it up: Building art through community. Building community through art.
About the FLUX Foundation
The FLUX Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in Oakland, California. Their mission is to engage people in designing and building large-scale public art as a catalyst for education, collaboration and empowerment. FLUX exists as a new model for the exploration and creation of art. As a volunteer-based organization, they apply collaboration, engagement, community, and technology to the production and experience of artworks. Their work is about the transformation of the spectator into the participant. They believe anyone can be an artist and build big art.
This exhibition will be on view August 24-September 19, 2013
Image by Jess Hobbs, Co-director at the FLUX Foundation.
Sunday April 14th