Arizona State University Art Museum

Open for Business

October 9, 2010 – January 29, 2011

Opening reception: Friday, October 8, 7-9pm

Arizona State University Art Museum & Downtown Tempe Businesses

What do the ASU Art Museum, Tempe Chamber of Commerce, Tempe Convention and Visitors Bureau, Downtown Tempe Community (DTC), Local First Arizona, Create Connect, *Scottsdale Public Art and Volunteer Legal Assistance for Artists (VLAA) have in common?  They engage, educate, raise awareness and connect communities.  In a collaborative effort to create increased understanding and dialogue about local community, these organizations will join forces with local business owners and artists for Open for Business, an exhibition which will take place jointly at businesses of downtown Tempe and an interrelated exhibition in galleries of the ASU Art Museum. The exhibition will involve sixteen Arizona artists exploring, and allowing the audience to explore, businesses of the Tempe community with onsite installations and projects.  The work created for the exhibition will address the purpose of each business, challenging the audience to interact with the physical space and purpose of each business.  Guide maps to the locations will be produced and available throughout downtown Tempe, Scottsdale and the ASU Art Museum.

The projects intention is to connect local contemporary artists with local businesses in hopes of a mutually beneficial art/business related outcome.  The projects will be respectful, relevant and engaged with the actual purpose of that individual business.  The projects may have fun with the business and/or its customer, but will not make fun of that business and/or its customer.

Current Strategic Project Partners include:

Tempe Chamber of Commerce, Tempe Convention and Visitors Bureau, Downtown Tempe Community (DTC), Local First Arizona, Creative Connect, *Scottsdale Public Art and Volunteer Legal Assistance for Artists (VLAA), who will be developing free outreach programming for artists and businesses.  Additional partnerships are in the process of being developed and confirmed.

Businesses that have confirmed participation:
La Bocca, Rula Bula, Caffé Boa, The Shoe Mill, BrandX Shirts, Régne, Bicycle Cellar’s, The Headquarters, Greenstreet Pedicabs of Arizona, Fascinations, Cartel Coffee Lab, Downtown Tempe Community, Inc. (Public Parking Structures)

Artists:

Peter Bugg, Cyndi Coon, Wendy Furman, Jon Haddock, Saskia Jorda, Tania Katan, Mary Lucking, Matthew Mosher, Adam Murray, Marco Rosichelli, Erin V. Sotak, David Tinapple, Chris Todd, Jen Urso, Nic Wiesinger, Whitney Zamá
Strategic Media Partner:
Phoenix NewTimes – a series of ads will run during the course of the exhibition that will list all businesses, artists, strategic partners and funders.

Funding:

This project is generously supported by a grant from the Tempe Municipal Arts Commission.

Additional funding support is in the process of being developed and confirmed.

*Scottsdale Public Art is organizing a store front project in Downtown Scottsdale that will occur during the same time period.  In a collaborative effort, both institutions will combine efforts to create cross-over audience and awareness.  A map will be created showing both Downtown locations and will be available at locations in Tempe, Scottsdale and the ASU Art Museum.

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Thank you John Spiak.  We’ve all had to keep this under wraps for a while, but it’s true, I will be working with Fascinations to develop the weTouch project.