Growing up in Cap City ain’t always so easy. For many, it’s deadly. A spunky hometown initiative known as Art 180 aims to change this—one paintbrush at a time. And come this weekend, one granny rocking chair at a time. Art 180, hatched by Kathleen Lane and Marlene Paul, taps talent brimming inner city youth and promotes the therapeutic benefits of art. Since its debut in 1998, a cadre of professional artists and volunteers has offered creative experiences in one form or another to Richmond’s youth living in challenging circumstances.

“We provide art related programs for young people to express themselves creatively….but the goal is really personal development …personal change…and ultimately, community change through that self expression.”

From creating city billboards and launching art exhibits to producing CD compilations of poetry and messages on the sides of mass transit, city tykes have increasingly walked away from Art 180 with a sense of identity and increased bond with their community. In short, these artistic do-gooders turn young people’s lives—and Richmond as whole—around 180 degrees.

This Saturday will see the outcome of Art 180’s newest funky undertaking, as 26 happily painted rocking chairs pepper the sidewalks in front of Ellwood Thompson’s, Ukrop’s and the SunTrust digs between Kroger and CVS at the west end of Carytown. Pegged as “Rock for a Reason,” the upcoming fundraising event will showcase limited edition chairs for sale. At $200 a pop for these stylish furnishings, proceeds will fatten the coffers of Art 180 for future creative endeavors with its partners at Camp Diva, F.I.R.S.T. (First In Readiness and Self-Sufficiency Training) Contractors and the Family Resource Center.

Best of all, the chairs aren’t your typical grandma rocker. They’re better.

The artsy shenanigans began this past July when local furniture making phenom Anthony Brozna designed the rockers and youngsters at F.I.R.S.T. Contractors assembled the creations. F.I.R.S.T, a not-for-profit located in Richmond, offers young adults preparing to transition out of foster care and/or the court systems with job readiness training. The F.I.R.S.T participants, who are particularly adept at handcrafted outdoor furniture, assembled the chairs with ease. And as a bonus, Paul explains, “Everything from the wood to the putty for the nails, to all the paint and the primer—it was all environmentally friendly.”

Next up, artists Matt Lively, Heide Trepanier and a gaggle of VCU art students fueled the creative spirit and helped twenty girls splatter the chairs with paint at Camp Diva, an educational program that empowers teen girls and prepares them for adulthood. “All of the girls working on the rockers came from different backgrounds,” explains Marlene Paul. “Some of them were teenage mothers with one foot into adulthood, and some were eleven-year-olds…so they ran the spectrum.”

The process was intense, admits Paul, with the girls working nonstop in a warehouse in the blistering heat of July.

To bring such programs to life, volunteers at all of the nonprofit organizations involved (ranging from artists and musicians to cubical workers and corporate suits) dedicated their talents and encouraged an outpouring of artistic expression. “Of the four organizations involved, we each have different missions, but the common denominator is that we all work with young people in challenging circumstances,” says Paul.

As the vividly painted rockers came to life, another development occurred. “There were a lot of factors to overcome, to focus on to complete the chairs,” explains Paul. “As always there are confidence issues—they would start out very motivated but if it didn’t turn out perfect they’d get frustrated. So it was the job of the artists involved to help the girls over that confidence hurdle and to work through their imperfections to complete a design that they ultimately felt good about. It’s hard to witness, but it’s a very real part of the process.”

Giving insiders a sneak peek, Art 180 recently debuted the rockers at a National Night Out event hosted by the Family Resource Center. This Saturday, these amped up rockers will be presented to a mass audience, and Art 180 hopes that Richmonders will come out with their rocking shoes on.

“These girls knew they had a job to do and a goal to complete the chairs, so they committed to that and they finished them… when we look back on it, we know that it was really hard, but that was the challenge.”

Rock for a Reason
Saturday, September 15 from 10am-2pm
At the western end of Carytown

http://www.art180.org