Impromptu Drawing of US : We Are *Almost All Immigrants, March 18

Press release:

Let’s gather together and create. Impromptu Drawing of US : We Are *Almost All Immigrants is a participatory drawing and improvisational music event, based on the game of Musical Chairs—but in this activity, no one is ever left out. The performance is created in real time by the participants: those feeling marginalized and those in solidarity with the marginalized. We will transform our American flag into a flag of US. The Impromptu Drawing is a meditation on unity and sharing in which we break down imaginary boundaries that divide us while we create together playfully. Everyone is welcome!

The event will take place at the studio of artist Connie Bostic in Fairview, 20 minutes from Asheville, on Saturday, March 18, beginning at 11:30 a.m. ending at 1:30 p.m.

Participants are invited to bring a brunch dish and musical instruments to share. Drawing supplies will be provided. We will meet around a large table that has been painted to represent the American flag. There, we will eat our meal together, after which we will draw each other’s faces—and faces on top of faces—to the stop-and-go rhythm of the emerging music we create together.

No experience with drawing or playing an instrument is required in order to participate. We will do this together. We will help each other out. We are going to have fun! Three languages that we all understand—food, drawing, and music—will guide us through the process and bring us together.

The Impromptu Drawing is the inspiration of Asheville-based artist Martha Skinner, who says:

The idea for this event came to me as a way to counter the divisive rhetoric and acts going on in our nation today: the talk of walls and the execution of bans and raids. This has led to rising tensions between stereotypes of people with some tragic outcomes. The marginalization of people is of course not a new phenomenon, but right now it is out in the open, raw and hurting. This project is not new, either. It has been in development and practiced since my early years teaching art and architecture, more than two decades ago. It has served as an icebreaker with my students; on the first day of class, it helps everyone to feel comfortable with each other, and to lose any inhibitions about drawing. In this activity, everyone draws together, on top of each other’s drawings. As a collective drawing begins to emerge, there is no sense of ownership of the drawing, and therefore no judgments of “right” or “wrong,” as the drawing is everyone’s. The same open, creative process goes for the music. The feeling of exclusion is something all of us have experienced at some point. The intent behind this event is to share and to break down walls.

Martha Skinner is an American citizen who was born in Colombia S.A. Her parents immigrated to the U.S. when Martha was just 13—a challenging time for such a transition. Her experience in a completely different culture started in high school in Miami, where racial and cultural divisions led to tensions among Cubans, African Americans, Caucasians, and recent immigrants, mostly from Central America. Martha is an artist, designer, educator, and mother. Her work, which stems from her involvement in all these fields, takes the form of participatory installations and products that investigate and attempt to restore balance to some of the environmental and humanitarian issues of our society.

Please RSVP via email or at the FB event invite. Guests may request the address of the event via email.