The Sketchbook Project

There is a notion that art is created by trained professionals and displayed in neat corridors with golden frames for the appreciation of upper class museum patrons. As an individual with a creative side and only time for casual glancing, I find this conception of art both hampering and isolating; and frankly I don’t want to be a part of such a confined community. But the art world is changing, and as I learned in last semesters art history course, it is changing because of community arts projects.

The Sketchbook Project, an initiative of Art House Coop, is a challenge to the stereotypical art world in every aspect. The sketchbooks are not made by artists boosting MFAs, but by absolutely anyone wanting to participate. Of course professional artists are not excluded, but students, soccer moms, doctors, store clerks, and anyone in between with 25 dollars (the projects participation fee) and the urge to create can do so. Once returned to Art House, the 2012 Sketchbooks will go on tour, hitting major US cities with some stops in Canada and even visits to London and Melbourne, Australia. There are no glass cases and blinding gallery lights – the sketchbooks are left out for visitors to flip through at their own pace and will be available for viewing in hotels, intimate galleries, and community arts centers.

If you’re finding the concept a little unclear, it’s likely because you’re over thinking it. Specially designed, 32 page sketchbooks are mailed to participants once they’ve registered online. Participants can chose from 1 of 40 themes provided by the project or request to be randomly assigned one. The interpretations of the themes are loose and entirely up to the artist with the book. Sketchbooks are due back by January 31st, 2012, but in between their arrival and their due date, books are subject to the whims of the artists. Participates can interact with their sketchbook in any imaginable way: take apart and rebind, write, draw, paint, glue, etc. All that is ask is that the sketchbooks stay relatively close to their original dimensions and be returned without glitter spilling from between the pages. Every sketchbook that is mailed back will be cataloged by the Art House based out of The Brooklyn Art Library and sent on tour. Though a sketchbook will never be returned to it’s maker after the tour, a participant can visit her work at the Brooklyn Art Library as if it were a real library reference book.

The Sketchbook project bears weight because it has taken off so quickly. In just the past five years its founders have created Art House, tried a few failed artistic endeavors, and somehow gained 500 participants for the first ever Sketchbook Project. They moved up to Brooklyn and have since interacted with over 60,000 artists from around the world – “artists” being anyone who dabbles in creating, even if it’s in the margins of the phonebook. Rather than being an elitist movement, The Sketchbook Project takes efforts to ensure a connection between the artist and the viewer. Through a digital cataloging system, artists can receive notifications every time their sketchbook is viewed. The Sketchbook Project is big and getting bigger, and the only limitations appear to be those within the minds of each individual creator.

If you’d like to be a part of the global project, act fast. Registration ends October 31st. And if you’re interested in greater detail on what’s being done, check out Arthousecoop.com.

Becca Pollock is a sophomore at Emerson College pursuing a B.F.A. in writing, literature, and publishing, but she should consider getting a degree in advanced arts & crafts with dual minors in napping and eating. She is a reader for Stork Literary Magazine, a blogger for Emerson Fashion Society, and a French Bulldog enthusiast – though there is no school club for that. You can find her all over the internet under the pseudonym Sewin’ Hoe.