As Artists Without Walls celebrates its fourth anniversary this month, we’ve asked some members to share a few thoughts about their experience with the group. Here’s what Kathleen Bennett Bastis wrote:
‘The first time I went to an Artists Without Walls’ event I was immediately struck with the sense of community – a palpable vibe that seemed to take “ego” out of the equation – casual yet professional. The talent pool performing at an AWoW event is deep, many with impressive pedigree, bringing a broad range of musical and theatrical artists, dance, spoken word and comedy to their stage. I’m not sure there is anywhere in the city that a spoken word artist shares the stage with a belly dancer. The enthusiasm, variety and the high level of talent rarely wanes and keeps me coming back month after month.”
Mixed media artist Kathleen Bennett Bastis’s work is inspired by the distinctive character, energy and form found in the fragments of discarded, washed up, broken or otherwise overlooked materials which she salvages from the street, river bank and scrap yards. Their unique shape, texture and hue guide her creative process as she reinterprets the history of this detritus and constructs a contemporary visual narrative. Click here to visit her website.