Our Town Everywhere: Project page
We believe creating together MAKES FOR THE BEST STORY.
A snapshot of Our Town Everywhere self portraits created by Madison Public Library Staff in 2022.
Throughout the year of 2023 an ever-growing team of artists and library staff will be championing Our Town Everywhere: A Self-Portrait of Madison throughout the city of Madison. This unique portrait making project will act as a catalyst for joyful connection, deeper conversation and collaborative creation.
Popping up in libraries, parks, shelters, and other community spaces (who knows!) folks of all ages will be invited to create and contribute their own stamped self portrait into the collection for the exchange of another community members’ portrait.
Support for this project is provided by Madison Public Library Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, Ascendium Education Group, Scooter Software Inc. and City of Madison.
UPCOMING PORTRAITS SESSIONS
OPEN TO ALL COMMUNITY MEMBERS!
No registration required.
Portrait Making Session
All ages welcome!
Tuesday, July 18, 5-7pm
Central Library, Bubbler Room
Portrait Making Session
All ages welcome!
Tuesday, August 22, 5-7pm
Central Library, Bubbler Room
“Libraries create endless opportunities for belonging, connection, and resource sharing.
Our Town Everywhere: A Self-Portrait of Madison will help us tell the story of who we are and how we are currently in community with one another. ”
The artist team who facilitated the first iteration of Our Town Everywhere in Madison with Madison Public Library Staff, September 2022.
THE NUTS & BOLTS OF OUR TOWN EVERYWHERE:
LEARN: Explore the tools of Our Town Everywhere - custom shape stamps, black ink pads, mirrors and a piece of grid paper
CREATE: Create something that captures the essence of YOU - this can be a traditional stamped self portrait, an image that captures what’s on the inside, a portrait of who you strive to be…
SHARE: Contribute your original artwork to the Our Town Everywhere collection and select a trade print made by someone else in your community!
THE PROJECT’S HISTORY
Our Town Nashville was a community art project in Nashville, Tennessee from 2014-2015. For two years, letterpress printmaker Bryce McCloud traveled around Davidson County with a team of artists, inviting people from all walks of life to participate in a public art project titled Our Town Nashville. Actively engaging folks in a conversation about community, Our Town Nashville created a space where people unlikely to otherwise participate in art-making could use handmade stamps to create their own self portrait.
With funding and support from the Public Art Fund managed by the Metro Nashville Arts Commission, the Our Town Nashville project appeared in 50 locations across town including shelters, concert halls, police stations, community events, coffee shops and everywhere in between—inviting Nashvillians to step out of their comfort zone and join in a community-wide art experience.
Collecting more than 1,000 portraits, Our Town provided a platform for the city of Nashville to create a more inclusive picture of itself. Our Town gave people a chance to share a human experience that linked them together beyond the confines of class, race, gender, age, culture of origin, or neighborhood.
A collection of Our Town portraits was added to the permanent archives of the Nashville Public Library and digitally on the Our Town website.
Artist Bryce McCloud leading Our Town Nashville on the streets of Nashville, TN, 2015.
Our Town Nashville pop-up portrait making station, 2015.