Project Reclamation Part I & II
A Debris pile collected from 6 Joplin, Missouri homes devastated by the EF-5 tornado on May 22, 2011.  98 Kansas City artists were asked to create a new work of art incorporating this debris.  The result was over 100 new works of art.  These works of art were auctioned to create a new grant made available to Joplin artists whose homes, studios and art have been destroyed by the tornado.  The Twist and Shout Auction (Part II of Project Reclamation) raised over $20,000.

Part I--installation of the debris pile in the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center

Part II--Art creation by KC artists and Twist and Shout Art Auction

National broadcast of Project on NPR morning edition

Kansas City Star Article Reclamation Part I

FOX4KCnews

NBCActionnewsKC

Kansas City Star Article Reclamation Part II

Project Statement
Making sense of it all… 

Before you, lies the wreckage that was once part of many people’s lives.  This pile is only a small bundle of the unimaginable aftermath of the EF-5 tornado that tore through the heart of Joplin in late May.  Although some of this debris was found in the yards of specific homeowners, some of it could belong to people many miles away.

This installation is only part of a process by which this material will rise up like a “phoenix out of the ashes” to be created anew from being reconsidered and reclaimed. The progression of this project sets forth in motion new forces that through the eyes, hands and hearts of artists within our own community will transform this debris and imbue it with a new meaning, context, and purpose This material serves as the catalysts for original, hopeful and meaningful works of art. 

Like many other people, I wanted to do something to help. In my projects I often challenge myself to work against the negative wave of emotion and feelings associated with a particular issue. How can we make sense of this? A group of artists and I spent time listening to the hair-raising stories of survival and loss experienced by the people in the pictures you see on the surrounding walls. We honor the 150 plus people who unexpectedly lost their lives.

As an artist, I wanted to put myself in the place of a fellow artist in Joplin. What would it be like for me to lose my home, my studio, my art materials, and my artwork? On the news and in person we witnessed people trying to salvage important memories, artifacts, and remnants of their former lives from what was left of their property. Objects were somewhat organized and arranged near people’s front doors of items they needed and wanted to hold on to. The rest of the materials, important and unimportant, remain to be removed and permanently buried in one of three nearby landfills.

Collectively, this will be our way to bring some sense of order and hope to the chaos and darkness. Nature has wielded its own raw power and mystery through the destruction of this storm. As artists, we can work to balance that energy and force with our own expansive and powerful creative process.