On display: November 3 – 25, 2017
GALLERY A
THE ONE HOUSE PROJECT
220 artists stand up for tolerance, inclusion and unity
A project of the ArtWatch collective
Led by Ellyn Weiss and Jackie Hoysted
Exhibition supported by the Touchstone Foundation for the Arts
VIP Opening Reception: Friday, November 3, 5 – 6 pm
Public Opening Reception: Friday, November 3, 6 – 8:30 pm
Genealogy Workshop by The Labs @DCPL: Thursday, November 9, 7 - 9pm at Touchstone Gallery
Artist Talk: Saturday, November 11, 2 - 4 pm
Art Workshop: Saturday, November 18, 1 - 3 pm
Conceived by ArtWatch, a group initially convened by Ellyn Weiss and Jackie Hoysted, the One House Project, is One of the biggest collaborative art installations ever seen in DC, embodies both resistance to the subversion of democratic principles and the assertion of their importance. Over 220 artists, primarily from the DC area, have come together to demonstrate the power of visual communication to support values such as tolerance and inclusion and to resist the efforts to divide us by race, gender, sexual preference, class or region. The overriding principle of One House is the vision for a country where we are united as one rather than divided; the artists aim to universalize this message by bringing it to a very personal level.
Each participating artist used a 12” square panel on which he or she commemorated an ancestor who came to this country -- voluntarily or involuntarily, or was here prior to the landing of the Europeans. The panels cover a broad span of time, including Native Americans, those whose ancestors who came on the Mayflower and artists who came themselves very recently, who used the square to tell their own story as newcomers to this country. A structure will be erected in the Touchstone Gallery and covered entirely with these panels, representing the remarkable range of diverse humanity who have combined to make the strength of America.
With the support of Touchstone Foundation for the Arts, The One House Project will be on display during the month of November at Touchstone Gallery. The show calls for viewers to engage with the house structure as a whole while identifying individual panels and the cultural history each panel holds within. Audio and video recordings of the artists’ stories will be included. As many artists have come together to make the One House Project, it is their hope that Americans come together to embrace the power found in a united people.
Genealogy Workshop by The Labs @DCPL (District of Columbia Public Library): Thursday, November 9, 7 - 9pm at Touchstone Gallery (Free, RSVP at rsvp@touchstonegallery.com space is limited to 30, first come first serve) Digitally Preserving Your Family History by Olubunmi V. Bakare, Victor Benitez, Casey Danielson and William Reid, Library Associates, The Labs, District of Columbia Public Library - genealogy basics and tips - oral to digital storytelling - how to create a personal digital archive
A group of the artists and those who conceived the project will lead a discussion about the process and their own experiences on Saturday, November 11, 2 - 4 pm.
A workshop will take place on Saturday, November 18, 1 - 3 pm in conjunction with the exhibition to explore the ideas behind the project; participants will make their own ancestor panels, which will be added to the project. (Free, RSVP at rsvp@touchstonegallery.com space is limited, first come first serve)
Participating artists: Ebtisam Abdulaziz, Tanja Ackar, Bob Allen, Susana Almuiña, Evie Altman, Erin Antognoli, Sondra N. Arkin, Elizabeth Ashe, Michele Banks, Marilyn Banner, Carol Barsha, Carol Beane, Jessica Beels, Joan Belmar, Kimberly M. Benavides, Leni Berliner, Lourdes Bernard, Carol Binstock, Lucy J. Soffer Blankstein, Jo Ann Block, Liliane Blom, Julia Bloom, Madison Bolls, Jill Brantley, Susan Brown, Sally Brucker, Shante Bullock, Anika Burg, Sharon Burton, Diane Cooper Cabe, Marina Callahan, Sara Caporaletti, Elizabeth Casqueiro, James Cassell, Hsin-Hsi Chen, Anne Cherubim, Alexandra Chiou, Victoria Chiou, Lucy Clark, Deborah Addison Coburn, Susan Cole, Ellen Cornett, Michael Cover, Tory Cowles, Lea Craigie-Marshall, Sheila Crider, Richard L. Dana, Catherine Day, Jessie DeAro, Manal Deeb, Ashley Dequilla, Erin Devine, Rachel Dickerson, Silvia Dinale, Kendall Dorman, Jamie Downs, Jennifer Duncan, Cheryl Edwards, Laura Elkins, Heloisa Escudero, Cary Ann Eure, Dorothy Fall, Maureen S. Farrell, Felisa Federman, Annemarie Feld-Hunziker, Marian Figlio, Susan Finsen, Sharon Fishel, Lillian Fitzgerald, Elaine Florimonte, Kim Foley, Cianne Fragione, Barbara Frank, Helen Frederick, Mary Freedman, Jeanne Garant, Ric Garcia, DeLesslin George-Warren, Anya Getter, Janis Goodman, Rosabel Goodman-Everard, Eric Gordon, Pat Goslee, Karl Graham, Judybeth Greene and Zoe Fagnani, Ksenia Grishkova, Marta Gutierrez, Melvin Hardy, Elyse Harrison, Seemeen Hashem, Sondra Barrett Hassan, Ellen Hill, Leslie Holt, Susan Hostetler, Jacqueline Hoysted, David Hubbard, Warren Alan Jackson, Pauline Jakobsberg, Rima Kamal, Maria Karametou, Anna Katalkina, Sally Kauffman, Brenda Kelliher, Terry Kelly, Kate Kibbe-Huntington, Sherry Kirschner, Raya Koren, Andrea Kraus, Michael Lang, Ngoc Le, Kyujin Lee, Kay S. Lindsey, Barbara Liotta, Katana Lippart, LisaE, Laura Litten, Shelley Lowenstein, Ruth Lozner, Rosemary Luckett, Laurel Lukaszewski, Akemi Maegawa, Barbara Mandel, Selma Manizade, Anne Marchand, E.Tina Martin Wyatt, Harry Mayer, Joan Mayfield, Kate McConnell, Kathryn McDonnell, Theresa Knight McFadden, Kiki McGrath, Veronica Melendez, Leela Menon, Anita Miller, William Moffett, Michele Montalbano, Nan Montgomery, Lora Moran-Collins, Miriam Mörsel Nathan, Camille Mosley-Pasley, Nancy Nesvet, Margot S. Neuhaus, Stephanie Ney, Shanti Norris, Rosalie O'Donnell, Bahar Omar, Mary D. Ott, Dagmar Painter, Louise Palazola, John Paradiso, Emily Pearce, Judith Peck, Marta Perez-Garcia, Megan Peritore, Jane Pettit, Michael B. Platt, Annette Polan, Lyric Prince, Yolanda Prinsloo, Patsy-Ann Rasmussen, Gail Rebhan, Joanne Riley, Jassie Rios, Angela Rodriguez, Lisa Rosenstein, Laura Roulet, Jen Rowley, Nicole Salimbene, Joan Samworth, Renee Sandell, Leslie Sater, Nancy Sausser, Meg Schaap, Steve Schulman, Martina Sestakova, Alexandra N. Sherman, Alison Sigethy, Ellen Sinel, Wendy Sittner, Brenda Smoak, Deborah Sokolove, Amanda Spaid, Gregory Staley, Linda Starling, Patricia Steck, Desiree Sterbini, Ann Stoddard, Terry Svat, Veronica Szalus, Ira Tattelman, Tina M. Tepe, Helga Thomson, Gabrielle Tillenburg, Karen Joan Topping, Susan Lippert Trapkin, Andres Tremols, Ruth Trevarrow, Randi Trinka, Drew Feith Tye, Debra E. Tyler, Juliana Vallejo, Miguel Ventura, Rosa Vera, Claudia Vess, Jo Ellen Walker, Gale Wallar, Jenny Walton, Roxanne Weidele, Mindy Weisel, Ellyn Weiss, Angela White, Bonita Wilson, Cindy Winnick, Clare Winslow, Barbara Wolanin, Marcie Wolf-Hubbard, Corinna Woodard, Sue Wrbican, Yellow Ranger, Helen Zughaib, Zarina Zuparkhodjaeva.
The One House Project has been designed to be replicable anywhere in the country by any group of people - school groups, faith groups, communities of all kinds. ArtWatch www.artwatchdc.com is a collective of DMV artists who have gathered together to develop ways to use the power of visual communication to express their support for true democratic values, such as inclusion, tolerance, equality under the law, and stewardship of the environment. Our vision is for a country where we are united as one people rather than divided against each other by race, gender, class, religion or any other construct.
Touchstone Foundation for the Arts (TFA) www.tfawdc.org is a nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization created by the artists of Touchstone Gallery in order to increase their engagement with the community around them. The Foundation creates opportunities for young and emerging artists in our area to develop professionally and to exhibit at an established gallery and offers other programs to engage the wider community and non-traditional artists. The programs of TFA are made possible by the generosity of our friends and supporters. Your contribution is tax deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law. One hundred percent of your contribution supports the work of Touchstone Foundation for the Arts.
We are very grateful to the sponsors who made this extraordinary exhibition possible: Sugarplum Tents, GotPrint.com and two generous donors who wished to stay anonymous, Solas Nua for all audio/video support and to Alan Binstock for the One House design. One Eight Distilling and Acadiana Restaurant for making our VIP reception extra special. We are also immensely thankful to Evie Altman, who constructed the underlying house, to Mike Lang, who photographed each of the panels, to Laura Roulet, who wrote the catalog essay, and to Olubunmi V. Bakare and her colleagues at the District of Columbia Public Library, who presented a workshop on how to research genealogy. Thank you also to our incredible community for your personal donations and support.