SELECTED PROJECTS
UNDERLINE, 2017 to present
This continuing body of work explores my biracial identity through the introspective creation of continuous-line, blind-contour self-portraits; a drawing process that asks me to engage fully with my own visual form, and translate that form into line while not looking at what I am creating or lifting my mark from the page. As a biracial person how I am seen shifts in the eye of the beholder and depends on social context. Through these explorations I contemplate my own visual form while relinquishing the ability to control how I look. I embrace a process of discovery that asks me to truly see myself, and asks the viewer to find me within, and beneath, the wandering lines. These drawings began in black and white, but gradually shifted towards multicolored expressions of self. Through this process I have discovered that none of us are just one thing- we are all multicolored beings beneath the surface. Drawings are crayon on paper, and gesso and crayon on paper, approximately 22" x 22" each.
Follow me on Instagram to see how this project develops: https://www.instagram.com/elisahhamilton #UnderlineSeries
This continuing body of work explores my biracial identity through the introspective creation of continuous-line, blind-contour self-portraits; a drawing process that asks me to engage fully with my own visual form, and translate that form into line while not looking at what I am creating or lifting my mark from the page. As a biracial person how I am seen shifts in the eye of the beholder and depends on social context. Through these explorations I contemplate my own visual form while relinquishing the ability to control how I look. I embrace a process of discovery that asks me to truly see myself, and asks the viewer to find me within, and beneath, the wandering lines. These drawings began in black and white, but gradually shifted towards multicolored expressions of self. Through this process I have discovered that none of us are just one thing- we are all multicolored beings beneath the surface. Drawings are crayon on paper, and gesso and crayon on paper, approximately 22" x 22" each.
Follow me on Instagram to see how this project develops: https://www.instagram.com/elisahhamilton #UnderlineSeries
PACK OUR BAGS, 2018
Pack Our Bags was interactive installation and performance piece created by the artist as part of "Interstellar Sanctuary," a Run of the Mills project curated by Anna Wexler and Jessica Ferguson. For this project the artist became The Traveler, a person from Earth imminently departing on a journey to our next world. The public was invited to physically help The Traveler pack the bags that would be taken on this voyage and would lay the foundation for our next civilization. Considering questions of earthly values, the public was invited to place small sculptures representing various concepts either in the suitcases "To Take", or to place objects on the floor "To Leave." Throughout the evening, the public was invited to continually reassess what should be taken and what should be left behind. In the culminating moment of the project, The Traveler read aloud the final tally of would be taken, and what would would be left behind; she then closed the bags, donned her traveling hat, and departed on her journey.
Learn more about Run of the Mills here: http://www.bcaonline.org/performance/run-of-the-mills.html
Pack Our Bags was interactive installation and performance piece created by the artist as part of "Interstellar Sanctuary," a Run of the Mills project curated by Anna Wexler and Jessica Ferguson. For this project the artist became The Traveler, a person from Earth imminently departing on a journey to our next world. The public was invited to physically help The Traveler pack the bags that would be taken on this voyage and would lay the foundation for our next civilization. Considering questions of earthly values, the public was invited to place small sculptures representing various concepts either in the suitcases "To Take", or to place objects on the floor "To Leave." Throughout the evening, the public was invited to continually reassess what should be taken and what should be left behind. In the culminating moment of the project, The Traveler read aloud the final tally of would be taken, and what would would be left behind; she then closed the bags, donned her traveling hat, and departed on her journey.
Learn more about Run of the Mills here: http://www.bcaonline.org/performance/run-of-the-mills.html
SLIDESHOW, 2017
Commissioned by Now+There, Slideshow took place October 12 - 15, 2017 as part of HUBweek on Boston City Hall Plaza. The project was a series of curated slide talks and an interactive photo exhibit taking place in and around a 20' shipping container. The artist invited ten Boston-area women from varying backgrounds each to photograph a week in her life and then to choose 25 images that she would use to tell her story in an analog slide talk. Slideshow amplified and celebrated the life experiences of ten generous, brave, Boston-area women through photography and storytelling, and invited the public to share in the day-to-day work, family life, and social context of each woman through the women's talks and through physical examination of the images on a communal light table.
Learn more about Slideshow here: www.nowandthere.org/slideshow
Commissioned by Now+There, Slideshow took place October 12 - 15, 2017 as part of HUBweek on Boston City Hall Plaza. The project was a series of curated slide talks and an interactive photo exhibit taking place in and around a 20' shipping container. The artist invited ten Boston-area women from varying backgrounds each to photograph a week in her life and then to choose 25 images that she would use to tell her story in an analog slide talk. Slideshow amplified and celebrated the life experiences of ten generous, brave, Boston-area women through photography and storytelling, and invited the public to share in the day-to-day work, family life, and social context of each woman through the women's talks and through physical examination of the images on a communal light table.
Learn more about Slideshow here: www.nowandthere.org/slideshow
SOUND LAB, 2017
Over the course of one week in March 2017, Elisa Hamilton transformed the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum's Calderwood Hall into a hands-on community listening space that featured the sounds of our Boston communities. In this six-month collaboration with four local community organizations, the artist taught workshops focused on listening more closely to the sounds of our ordinary lives, and recorded each community group at work. From this audio, the artist created a collection of 39 custom picture discs that featured the sounds and images of the community groups. The "Sound Lab" featured the custom records along with a selection of vintage records curated to reflect Boston’s rich musical traditions. The artist created a 20' x 20' map of Boston, atop which visitors were invited to touch, hold, and play the records on locally made turntables. During the run of the installation, the artist curated workshops and performances lead by community partner organizations, and hosted an Sound Lab Open Mic each day with a different theme. At the conclusion of the exhibition, the record collections and turntables were gifted to each community partner.
Learn more about Sound Lab here: www.wbur.org/artery/2017/03/09/sound-lab-gardner-museum
Over the course of one week in March 2017, Elisa Hamilton transformed the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum's Calderwood Hall into a hands-on community listening space that featured the sounds of our Boston communities. In this six-month collaboration with four local community organizations, the artist taught workshops focused on listening more closely to the sounds of our ordinary lives, and recorded each community group at work. From this audio, the artist created a collection of 39 custom picture discs that featured the sounds and images of the community groups. The "Sound Lab" featured the custom records along with a selection of vintage records curated to reflect Boston’s rich musical traditions. The artist created a 20' x 20' map of Boston, atop which visitors were invited to touch, hold, and play the records on locally made turntables. During the run of the installation, the artist curated workshops and performances lead by community partner organizations, and hosted an Sound Lab Open Mic each day with a different theme. At the conclusion of the exhibition, the record collections and turntables were gifted to each community partner.
Learn more about Sound Lab here: www.wbur.org/artery/2017/03/09/sound-lab-gardner-museum
COMMUNITY LEGACY, 2017
In September 2017, Elisa Hamilton collaborated with the MIT List Center for Visual Art to create a participatory installation in response to the institution's Student Loan Art Program. The Program is an annual tradition since 1969, which allows students to borrow artworks from the List's permanent collection and keep in their homes for the school year. The artist was moved by the generosity of this program, which, instead of hoarding valuable works of art, lends them to students to be enjoyed, creating a positive daily impact in the lives of community members. In the spirit of the generosity of the Student Loan Art Program, the artist asked community members a question about their own giving: "what will you leave behind?" Participants were encouraged to write down their response, tuck it into a box, and place it on a shelving unit that became a growing, physical evidence of community offerings. Participants were encouraged to explore others' responses by peering through the clear acrylic vessels to the writing inside. The 179 results have now been digitally catalogued and are published online as public evidence of the community’s legacy.
Learn more about Community Legacy here: communitylegacy.squarespace.com
In September 2017, Elisa Hamilton collaborated with the MIT List Center for Visual Art to create a participatory installation in response to the institution's Student Loan Art Program. The Program is an annual tradition since 1969, which allows students to borrow artworks from the List's permanent collection and keep in their homes for the school year. The artist was moved by the generosity of this program, which, instead of hoarding valuable works of art, lends them to students to be enjoyed, creating a positive daily impact in the lives of community members. In the spirit of the generosity of the Student Loan Art Program, the artist asked community members a question about their own giving: "what will you leave behind?" Participants were encouraged to write down their response, tuck it into a box, and place it on a shelving unit that became a growing, physical evidence of community offerings. Participants were encouraged to explore others' responses by peering through the clear acrylic vessels to the writing inside. The 179 results have now been digitally catalogued and are published online as public evidence of the community’s legacy.
Learn more about Community Legacy here: communitylegacy.squarespace.com
DANCE SPOT, 2012 to present
Dance Spot is an ongoing public art project, in which the artist creates pop-up dance floors in unexpected places and invites the public to dance. Dance Spots are individually created for each location by the artist with different design and choreography for each spot. In Dance Spot’s foundational iteration, the artist transformed the sidewalks of Fort Point into impromptu dance floors. The original project consisted of five dance spots - places to dance - prominently located throughout the Fort Point neighborhood. Each Dance Spot had a colorful dance diagram drawn on the sidewalk, illustrating a specific dance routine that paired with a specific song. Each installation also featured signage that directed the public to the Dance Spot website, where one could stream the songs, watch videos of the dances, and learn to do them on site. Over the past five years, Dance Spot has engaged with a variety of communities all around Boston, as well as at the DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, and Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia.
Learn more about Dance Spot here: www.dancespotboston.com
Dance Spot is an ongoing public art project, in which the artist creates pop-up dance floors in unexpected places and invites the public to dance. Dance Spots are individually created for each location by the artist with different design and choreography for each spot. In Dance Spot’s foundational iteration, the artist transformed the sidewalks of Fort Point into impromptu dance floors. The original project consisted of five dance spots - places to dance - prominently located throughout the Fort Point neighborhood. Each Dance Spot had a colorful dance diagram drawn on the sidewalk, illustrating a specific dance routine that paired with a specific song. Each installation also featured signage that directed the public to the Dance Spot website, where one could stream the songs, watch videos of the dances, and learn to do them on site. Over the past five years, Dance Spot has engaged with a variety of communities all around Boston, as well as at the DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, and Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia.
Learn more about Dance Spot here: www.dancespotboston.com
SUPERMARKET, 2016
In this 15-week processed-focused residency at Boston Center for the Arts, the artist conceived and created a neighborhood store that sold superpowers. Through community workshops developed and facilitated by the artist, the artist engaged the public with questions and explorations about personal heroism, social responsibility, the superpowers we desire, and the powers inherent to our humanity. In the culmination of the residency, the artist created the Supermarket itself; the artist crafted a line of 15 different superpower products based on public feedback, and “customers” were invited to purchase a superpower from the Supermarket. Visitors made their purchases not with money, but by sharing a superpower which they already possessed with the Supermarket.
Learn more about Supermarket here: www.improper.com/arts-culture/spring-into-action-visual-art/4/
In this 15-week processed-focused residency at Boston Center for the Arts, the artist conceived and created a neighborhood store that sold superpowers. Through community workshops developed and facilitated by the artist, the artist engaged the public with questions and explorations about personal heroism, social responsibility, the superpowers we desire, and the powers inherent to our humanity. In the culmination of the residency, the artist created the Supermarket itself; the artist crafted a line of 15 different superpower products based on public feedback, and “customers” were invited to purchase a superpower from the Supermarket. Visitors made their purchases not with money, but by sharing a superpower which they already possessed with the Supermarket.
Learn more about Supermarket here: www.improper.com/arts-culture/spring-into-action-visual-art/4/
LEMONADE STAND, 2016
Lemonade Stand, a Creative City project funded by New England Foundation for the Arts, in collaboration with Silvia Lopez Chavez, used a mobile lemonade cart to bring positive story-sharing public programs to low income housing developments in Mission Hill, Jamaica Plain, and Dorchester throughout the summer of 2016. Using the concept of "lemons to lemonade," participants were asked to share - in either pictures or words - their personal stories of overcoming challenges in their lives. The project took the form of a traveling artist residency with The Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts.
Learn more about Lemonade Stand here: lemonadestandboston.blogspot.com
Lemonade Stand, a Creative City project funded by New England Foundation for the Arts, in collaboration with Silvia Lopez Chavez, used a mobile lemonade cart to bring positive story-sharing public programs to low income housing developments in Mission Hill, Jamaica Plain, and Dorchester throughout the summer of 2016. Using the concept of "lemons to lemonade," participants were asked to share - in either pictures or words - their personal stories of overcoming challenges in their lives. The project took the form of a traveling artist residency with The Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts.
Learn more about Lemonade Stand here: lemonadestandboston.blogspot.com
