Artists & Communities Host Site: Colquitt/Miller Arts Council, Inc.
P.O. Box 567
Colquitt, GA 31737

Millennium Artist:
Chrissie Orr
Installation Artist/Muralist
New Mexico
E-mail: chrissie@metamorfosis.com
Web site: http://www.tierraadentro.com or http://www.metamorfosis.com/bridgeproject/bridgeproject.htm or http://www.metamorfosis.com/chrissie/chrissieintro.html

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Students from Miller County Middle School and High School collaborated with Chrissie Barrie Orr to create the "Peace Wall" mural during Orr's Artists & Communities residency with the Colquitt / Miller Arts Council. Orr's residency began in March 2000 and concluded in July.

All of the participants agreed that their concern about peace - within themselves, within their community, and across the world - was a key issue that colored their visions for the future. From that realization, Orr and the students designed a mural incorporating universal and personal images of peace and unity. Completed in late July, the "Peace Wall" attracted the interest of the State Superintendent of Schools, who pledged to work with the Arts Council to extend the "Peace Wall" project throughout Georgia.

The Colquitt / Miller Arts Council is well known for its entrepreneurial approach to community arts. Its successful Swamp Gravy folk life play is nationally regarded as a model for the innovative presentation of local history, and has attracted tourists to Colquitt since first performed in 1991. Interested in the concept of cultural initiatives feeding economic development, the Arts Council looked to the town of Chemainus, British Columbia for inspiration. Commissioning over 30 murals in the early 1980's depicting local personalities and historical events, the residents of Chemainus transformed their community from a dying industry center to a cultural Mecca that still attracts over 400,000 visitors a year.

Chrissie Barrie Orr's Artists & Communities residency laid the foundation for a similar vision for the future of the Colquitt area. A multi-disciplinary artist, Orr's work is always responsive to the site and the community in which it is situated. Her residency in Colquitt was far removed from her home in New Mexico; undaunted, Orr worked with residents to identify their concerns, as well as significant local stories, places, and environmental elements that best exemplified their region. Much of this is reflected in the "Peace Wall." Much more is included in a second mural Orr created while in residence, "The Story Wall," and in another design created by Orr to help seed Colquitt's mural-led renaissance.

Commenting on her work as an artist-in-residence, Chrissie Barrie Orr said, "….the artist, when directly involved with the community, can address complex issues in a positive manner and bring people together though a shared experience. Art transcends politics, cultural barriers, language, and socio-economies."

MILLENNIUM ARTIST BIO

Chrissie Orr is a public artist, educator, and funding director of Warehouse 21 Teen Project in New Mexico, who has realized commissions around the world. A recent installation, "Tierra Adentro," is a work in progress that deals with issues on the Mexican/U.S. border.