With Oakland-based Artist David Wilson

By Lauren Pelletier –

Join The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design (CCCD) on May 1st and 2nd, 2015 for In Song: Sing On, an evening songbook workshop and an afternoon adventure to a hidden Asheville site for a sing-a-long led by Oakland-based artist David Wilson.

In the field recording tradition of folklore historians Alan Lomax, Harry Smith, and Pete Seeger, artists David Wilson and Colter Jacobsen have collected and recorded songs since 2013 to support and encourage occasions for people to gather together and sing. This collecting has led to the development of a song book, which has been used at sing-a-longs at homes, campfires, and various institutions including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The Heliopolis Gallery (New York), and A.C.R.E (Steuben, WI).

“Wilson’s project focuses on crafting community,” CCCD Assistant Director Marilyn Zapf says, “He skillfully works to organize people, places, and events to create unique, one-off art experiences. This is an exciting opportunity for Asheville residents and visitors to participate in an ongoing, nationally recognized art project.”

For In Song: Sing On, Wilson invites CCCD visitors to add to this song book. He will work with each participant on Friday evening to transcribe lyrics and simple chord progressions so songs can be easily played and others can easily join in the singing. A recording of each contributor singing or playing their selection will accompany the song book so that new songs can be learned and old favorites can be appreciated. On Saturday afternoon, participants will be invited to explore their city and join a roaming group sing-a-long led by the artist.

In Song: Sing On is the second project in CCCD’s Back to the Drawing Board series that provides six artists the opportunity to “take-over” CCCD’s Benchspace Gallery & Workshop and invite the audience to participate in the creation of a final work of art.

Event Details

May 1-2, In Song Sing On: The Songbook Project, David Wilson (Oakland, CA)

• Friday, May 1, 2015 from 6-9 p.m. Bring a song or join along. Visitors may bring or discover a well-known traditional, pop, campfire, children’s, or folk song to transcribe, record themselves or others singing, and assemble songbooks. Snacks and drinks will be provided. No experience necessary.
• Saturday, May 2 at 2 p.m. Explore where art can take you. Meet at CCCD, 67 Broadway Street at 2 p.m., and grab a map created by the artist. Wilson will meet visitors at an undisclosed location to perform songs added to the songbook on Friday. This is an all ages event. Instruments are welcome.

Additional Back to the Drawing Board Events

• May 29-30, Blue Mountain, Mark Reigelman (Brooklyn, New York)
• August 28-29, Material Iterations, Jennifer Bueno (Penland, North Carolina)
• Immigrant Citizenship Takeover, Aram Han (Chicago, IL)
• Domensterventions: Inventions for Domestic Interventions, Cheyenne Rudolph (Gainesville, FL)

All events will be held at CCCD’s Benchspace Gallery & Workshop, 67 Broadway Street, Asheville, NC and are free and open to the public. For more information, call (828) 785-1357 or visit www.craftcreativitydesign.org.

This program was made possible by the John & Robyn Horn Foundation and receives media sponsorship from Industrious Productions.

About The Center For Craft, Creativity & Design

Established in 1996, The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design (CCCD) is a national nonprofit organization that advances the understanding of craft by encouraging and supporting research, critical dialogue, and professional development in the United States. CCCD raises funds for programs and outreach to international, national, and regional artists, craft organizations, universities/colleges, and the community.

Each year, CCCD administers over a quarter million dollars in grants to those working in the craft field. At the end of January 2014, CCCD relocated to Asheville, NC, and opened Benchspace, a public gallery and workshop for investigating contemporary practices of making in the shifting creative landscape of the 21st century.

About David Wilson

David Wilson is an artist and curator based in Oakland, CA. He creates observational drawings and orchestrates site-specific gatherings that draw a wide net of artists, performers, filmmakers, chefs, and artisans into collaborative relationships. He recently organized the experimental exhibition The Possible at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, and received the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s 2012 SECA Art Award.

He has exhibited his work with SFMOMA, was included in the 2010 CA Biennial at the Orange County Museum of Art, had a solo Matrix exhibition at Ba.m./PFA, and has received grants from The Andy Warhol Foundation and The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design.