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ENSO, THE MAKERS: LOCAL ARTISTS COMPETE FOR SHOWCASING WORK AT FORTHCOMING ARTIST HAVEN

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Artwork by Resa Blatman | Room photo courtesy Trinity Financial

Artwork by Resa Blatman | Room photo courtesy Trinity Financial

Last month, Boston-based urban development company Trinity Financial invited artists, designers, writers, musicians, and all other maestros of the arts to submit their qualifications by July 31, 2015, in order to seize the opportunity of having their artwork featured in Enso Flats, a forthcoming Brockton artist haven.

 

With a budget of $15,000, the prospective piece is set to be placed in the gallery lobby, having the honor of being one of the very first art pieces people will see upon entering the building.

 

Located at 50 Centre Street in downtown Brockton, Enso Flats is currently in its first phase of the revitalization of Enterprise Center, a $100 million project with the goal of reinventing 3.2 acres of buildings and underutilized land as a mixed-use neighborhood in order to promote artistry in Brockton.

 

A sculpture, a painting, an interpretive piece, or something else entirely—all kinds of artwork were viable to win, with creativity encouraged.

 

The finalists for the art installation include muralist Sophia Ainslie of Arlington, painter Resa Blatman of Somerville, painter and graphic designer Alene Cope of New Hampshire, photographer Pat Corlin of New Hampshire, mixed media artist Jeanee Redmond of Somerville, and sculptor Antoinette Schultze of Maine.

 

Among the finalists, twenty-seven artists were featured (including 15 from Brockton itself) during the Downtown Brockton Arts & Musical Festival (DBAMFEST), which takes place annually on the last Saturday in August.

 

The month-long exhibition will allow visitors to view the proposals of the six finalists competing to design the lobby piece in the gallery entrance space.

 

During the week of Aug 3, the client/art selection committee review of the applicant pool formally began in early August, followed by six finalists being chosen from the pool and announced to the public on Aug 10. These finalists received a $500 honorarium to develop their own unique proposals for the public exhibition for the fifth annual DBAMFEST last weekend.  

 

For the second round, Somerville artist Resa Blatman submitted two versions of her wall installation, “Gaia,” consisting of various materials, including fake flowers and painted, laser-cut surfaces, layered to create a three-dimensional painting.

 

“My work speaks to issues related to climate change,” says Blatman, “but for this project, I wanted to create something that would be a reflection of the local landscape. The wall installation mock-up includes shapes of fauna and flora that exist at the DW Field Park in Brockton, MA. The goal is to engage the community by incorporating the local landscape into the work and paying respect to the green spaces in the Brockton area.”

 

On the subject of the process, Blatman said, “I spent a lot of time designing what I thought [was] thoughtful, exciting, and engaging artwork for the space. The process was a satisfying challenge, and I spent a great deal of time on the mock-ups and the layout of the posters.”

 

Along with the contest, Enso Flats aims to have 42 modern flat-style rental apartments rented to artists in order to expand the Brockton artist community with an environment designed for artists and their families can live and properly while working their crafts. A quarter of Enso Flats are already inhabited by Brockton artists.

 

The competition winner will be announced Sept 7, with fabrication of artwork commencing in the fall of 2015 and installation being completed in early spring 2016.

RENAN FONTES

RENAN FONTES