Artsy Food Drive Shakes Things Up

Posted by Lorin Drinkard / Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

We’ve all seen the signs – a large, often unmarked cardboard box rests next to a beige hallway wall, wrinkly CVS bags stuffed with oversized cans threatening to pull a Jenga and topple over with a “Donations Needed” message scrawled onto posterboard . These telltale images practically scream “food drive up ahead.”

Workhouse Studio 4 doesn’t play that game.

With a little imagination and originality at work, the Lorton studio’s latest project aims to collect loads of nonperishable goods for the Northern Virginia community members in need, while giving it an artistic flair. As donations are collected, Studio 4 artists Mary Gallagher Stout, John Gascot, Lynn Goldstein and Joan Yi will begin the transformation process from a pile of generic canned food items to intriguing art installation.

Food for Others, the biggest distributor of free food assistance in NoVA, will be receiving all the goods when the installment comes to a close.

By incorporating several art mediums and forms of expression, the Have A Heart project will tackle topics like hunger, health and consumption – from both the artists’ and community’s perspectives. Canned food and nonperishable contributions will be accepted all month long through the installment’s run on Feb. 11th from 6 to 9 pm.

Donations can  be dropped off during the following days/times:

- Wednesday through Saturday, 11 am to 7 pm
- Sunday, noon to 5 pm

Studio 4 has put together an intro video about Have A Heart, which will be filmmaker Makeda Thomas’s theme for her upcoming documentary. Check it out below.

 

 – Lorin Drinkard

Tags: Artist, artist installation, artist installment, artists, collection, donations, food drive, Food for Others, Have A Heart, helping those in need, Hidden NoVA, Lorin Drinkard, Lorton, Northern Virginia, Northern Virginia Magazine, nova mag, The Culture Gurus, The Game Plan, things to do, Treasure Tuesday, Workhouse Arts Center, Workhouse Studio 4