*PLEASE NOTE: There was a mistake in the email address we provided earlier for the Resistance Squared Art Project. If you tried to email before, please email again, at Hello@ResistanceSquared.INFO (not .com). You can also call or text Ola at 360-747-7855.
The Resistance Squared Art Project, being done in partnership with Indivisible Bellingham, is looking for volunteers, resistance art, and donations of / for materials for the final installation. See below for more details.
NEED #1: Painting Party Volunteers! (🐸 ribbit ribbit 🐸)
Timeline: Now
We need people who have an artistic eye and are comfortable painting to help us paint in the main section of the mosaic (which is 23 feet x 8 feet). This is a really fun opportunity for anyone comfortable with basic art skills who is comfortable with a paintbrush. We’ve got the design outlined already – we just need help filling it all in!
Get ready to see green, because the design includes LOTS AND LOTS OF FROGS.
Email Hello@ResistanceSquared.info or call/text 360-747-7855
NEED #2: Volunteers for Community Tile-Writing Tables
Timeline: Starting mid July
Starting in mid-July, we’ll disassemble the painted mosaic and bring the tiles out to community spaces. There, we’ll invite people to come up, take a tile, and write their answer to this question on it:
WHO or WHAT in this democracy do YOU think is worth fighting for?
Can you lend a hand and join us at a tiling-writing table? Shifts can be anywhere from 1-4 hours. We’ll be at various locations in the greater Bellingham area. Email Hello@ResistanceSquared.info or call/text 360-747-7855
NEED #3: Seeking Locations for Tile Writing!
Timeline: Looking Now!
Do you have a busy business, or know someone who does? We’re looking for great places to bring our table and tiles, so we can invite the public to participate in the project by writing on the tiles. Cafes, food trucks, breweries or businesses situated near busy spaces like the farmers’ market or outdoor summer events are ideal – anywhere we can be visible to a large number of people at once! If you think you can connect us to someone with a good location, please reach out! Email Hello@ResistanceSquared.info or call/text 360-747-7855
NEED #4: Resistance Art (Submissions for Juried Exhibit)
Timeline: Now through August 31
We’re now accepting submissions for resistance-themed artworks to accompany the installation of the Community Resistance Mosaic when it is exhibited at the Wink, Wink Side Piece Studio in Bellingham this October. We will accept submissions across a wide range of media, so please reach out if you have questions or would like more information. No submission fee. Email Hello@ResistanceSquared.info or call/text 360-747-7855 for more info.
NEED #5: 8 x 4′ Plywood (8 sheets)
Our biggest material need is plywood that we can use to mount the tiles for the final installation. If you’re able to help us with a donation of plywood sheets, or can provide financial support to help us purchase the plywood we need, please reach out!
To chat about any of the above, please contact Ola at hello@ResistanceSquared.INFO, or via cell at 360-747-7855.
What is the Resistance Squared Community Art Project?
Bellingham artists Alene Johnson and Ola Lessard wanted to use art as a way to help people in our community think about, then speak out on, what matters to them in our democracy. They also wanted to create a piece that reminds ALL OF US that there’s incredible power in a community that comes together.
So, they say they did what anyone would do in their situation:
They decided to:
- Paint a 23-foot wide pro-democracy/resistance-themed image across 3,000 wooden tiles,
- Take the image back apart, bring all the tiles out into the community and invite people to write their personal answer to this question on a tile: “Who or what, in our democracy, do YOU think is worth fighting for?”
- Reassemble the 3,000 tiles back into a huge beautiful mosaic,
- Install the giant mosaic in downtown Bellingham for everyone to see,
- Invite everyone to come find their own tile, read all the declarations of their neighbors, and see first hand how powerful we are when we come together!
- Plus invite resistance-themed artworks from other artists who are similarly boiling mad about what’s happening to our democracy.