Social Arts with Melanie Schambach
Engaging individuals, communities, and institutions
in creating public art working collaboratively through
different participatory formats on specific social issues.
StoryPaintings:
'Free All Living Beings' 2018-2019
Lummi Nation has been called to bring Lolita, a killer whale stolen from the Salish Sea in 1970, back home. Lolita, also called Tokitae, has been held at the Miami Seaquarium for the past 47 years. The Lummi word for killer whale is qwe lhol mechen, meaning, the people under the sea. We consider blackfish to be our kin, and we consider families to be sacred. It is our duty to bring Tokitae home. Moreover, Tokitae is an ambassador for the Salish Sea. The Salish Sea is our sacred sea, and it is our obligation to help protect and restore the ecosystems, cultures, and communities of this place.
A 22' X 7' mobile mural tours around Turtle Island gathering messages and generating thoughts of possibility. Artists from various cities are inviting the general public to contribute to this synergetic movement by hosting events and facilitating the painting of this mobile mural. From London to Miami, and now in Sacramento, it will make its way to Seattle by July 2018. If you are interested in hosting the mural in your city, contact Melanie.
