Special thanks to The Community Ideas Stations and WVCE PBS!
Vanessa German, a visual and performance artist and founder of ARThouse and Love Front Porch, called Tom Tom’s Creative Ecosystems Conference to action at the Jefferson Theater on April 11, 2019.
Through photographs of her neighborhood and her work, candid personal moments, and stunning performance, the Don Tyson Prize-winning German introduced her journey as a citizen artist, and explored her mantra: ‘I believe in the power of art.’ The moments unfold as they do on her porch in Homewood, Pittsburgh; transformative and brimming with love as a superpower.
Read an interview about the artist’s work and her visit to Tom Tom via this profile in Shondaland; check out her work at Charlottesville’s Fralin Museum through July 7, 2019.
German introduces her mantra, “I believe in the power of art.”
German offers a moment of social practice art—or, “freestyling for the fun of it”—with an improvised poem using three spontaneous prompts from an audience member: a name, a color, and a power.
German describes how Love Front Porch and ARThouse took shape in Homewood.