CDSA Poverty: [A-Z] Project
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by Curtis Tucker
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First Friday, September 11 - The Non Profit Center will be open and have refreshments available for anyone who would like to step inside and view the installation.
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The Community Development Support Association unveiled their Poverty: [A-Z] Project in the Non Profit Center before a crowd of Board Members, press, photographers and family. Inspired by the Kansas Community Action Agency Association and their poverty project, CDSA believed it could create a similarly powerful art installation unique to northwest Oklahoma.
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The art installation is the product of a creative process dedicated to redefining what it means to live in poverty through the words and stories of CDSA's clients. A total of twenty-six original art pieces are installed throughout the Non Profit Center. Every image is a representation of a written statement provided by CDSA clients beginning with each letter of the alphabet.
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CDSA put out a call for interested photographers to submit a photo to be considered to participate in the project. I submitted a photo and was one of ten photographers selected to help create this inspiring project.
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The first stage of the project was editing each of the 26 quotations that were used in the final art installation. The second phase entailed meeting with all juried photographers/artists. During these meetings organizers explained their expectations regarding photographic submissions.
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At the meeting each photographer was assigned four quotations. These quotations were our inspiration for the images we were to submit – one photograph for each quotation. The planning committee then selected the project photos and notified all juried artists of their winning entries. CDSA was responsible for printing and mounting of the photographs. All juried artists whose image(s) were accepted received a $200 honorarium for each image used in the Poverty: A-Z project.
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Artists that worked on the project include John Chambers, Cheri Ezzell, Erin Haney, Scott Huntsberger, Riley Jantzen, Nancy Killam, Traci Layton, Michael Louthan, Penny Sweet and Curtis Tucker.
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The public is now invited to stop by during normal operating hours and view the project. The hallways throughout the Non Profit Center are lined with the photos. Each framed photograph contains the quote that inspired it along with the name of the photographer. The Poverty: [A-Z] Project installation was made possible with a grant from the Oklahoma Department of Human Services - Smart Start Oklahoma.
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CDSA is located in downtown Enid at 114 South Independence. Business hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
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