Artists on Billboards

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Project Proposal Letter:

Shana A. Green, ------- Dr., L-----, CA 93---

Mayor Pro-Tem Jackie McHenry
Claremont City Hall
PO Box 880
Claremont, CA 91711-0880

March 28, 2006

Dear Mayor Pro-Tem of Claremont,

My name is Shana A. Green and I am an artist. I graduated from
Claremont Graduate University in 1998 with an MFA degree in Painting.
I am writing to you, as I know so well how much you care about the
community of artists in your city.

Living in Claremont and going to school was a beautiful experience for
me. However, I am sorry to say that eight years after my graduation from
the Grad School in Claremont I still haven’t found a position where I can use my professional skills and creative talents. Three years ago I also needed to leave Claremont for a more affordable neighborhood, where I have a day job as a receptionist and a night job as a waitress.

I do know that many artists are in the same situation as I am; we go to
private expensive schools, but we cannot find a well-paid position in our area of expertise after graduation. We end up either working in a low rate job or we change professions altogether. In my opinion every city should support its artists, and the American mayors should learn from countries like the Nederlands or Denmark, where artists are provided stipends and grants to study art and create work.

I do know that there are many institutions in California that offer grants to artists. However, artists like my friends and myself, who constantly work to earn a living, cannot even find the time to apply for those grants.

Because of my two jobs I also do not have the time to apply for a teaching position, where one needs to provide a large size packet that includes slides and other high cost documents. I even could not find the time to write this letter, and kept postponing this task for several months. And that is why I am urging you to take action. The city should support artists within its community and advance the artists’ search for a good use of their long-term study. The artists should be provided extensive publicity, rapidly spreading their reputation and their availability for work. The many talents each artist harbors should be invisible to the city in large, as the artist works at her studio. I often wonder why look for jobs, fill out long applications, and spend money on stamps and envelopes when the employers can get to know you just in a glance?

I have a grand vision for the city of Claremont that will affect the lives of hundreds of artists and employers. My idea is that the city of Claremont should provide some of its billboards to its unemployed artists, so we will have our resume submitted in front of a large crowd of pedestrians and travelers. The many artists who have graduated from the Claremont colleges and grad school should be the first ones to be promoted.

Of course it is necessary to select not just any billboard for our
promotion but one that is located in a middle of a busy intersection.
It shouldn’t be too busy though, as we do need the travelers to relax,
while able to read every word and find the time to call the number in the billboard.

There have been numerous cases in the history of Los Angeles where
citizens have used the billboard for their own personal development. In
2003 a young single lady displayed her photo and telephone number on
a billboard and asked available men to contact her. The chances of this
lady to find her soul mate tremendously increased once she stretched her
body above the city, rather than print her personal ad in the L.A Times in small letters. The power of a gigantic layer of expression in a busy street is undoubtedly very forceful! This lady, however, must have paid several thousands dollars for her ad. I would like to see the city providing this service for its unemployed artists at no cost.

Should the city support my idea I will forward my resume to you as soon
as possible to display it on one of your most popular billboards. A photo to accompany my resume and a list of qualifications and
recommendations are optional. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Shana A. Green

Cc: Mayor Peter S. Yao, P.O Box 880, Clarement,

CA 91711-0880

 

Response from Institution:

 

Artwork Created:

Shoshana Brand, USA/ISRAEL | view biography

 

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