The Arts Are Muscular: Marjorie Guyon on the I Was Here Project

Description: Marjorie Guyon spent decades as an exhibiting artist before she turned her attention to public space and started the I Was Here project, an initiative that installs ancestor portraits in civic places and asks people to reconsider who built this country. In this conversation she talks about keeping ambitious work alive when the money is far from guaranteed, why the way we talk about supporting artists underestimates the people doing the work, and what she would tell anyone sitting on an idea they are afraid to start.

Key Topics: Reconsidering who has access to powerful art and where it lives Building public art projects without funding or permission The power of ancestry as a frame, rather than the wound of ancestry Sustaining nonprofit creative work in a shifting funding environment Trust-based grantmaking and what it makes possible for small organizations Expanding a project from a single city into a regional and national initiative Advice for creatives holding an idea they have not started yet Finding collaborators and partners who take the work seriously Featured Guest: Marjorie Guyon is an artist and the founder of the I Was Here project, based in Lexington, Kentucky. After 25 years exhibiting nationally, she turned to public art, creating a set of ancestor spirit portraits installed in the windows surrounding Lexington's historic courthouse.

The project has since grown to include the Nation Builders workshop program and is expanding across the South. Notable Quotes: "As long as you operate out of the wound, you stay small." (Marjorie Guyon) "The whole idea is you will not succeed.

You will need to be supported, and the fact is there's no guarantees. You have to create them." (Marjorie Guyon) "The arts are muscular, but you have to make them do what you want them to do." (Marjorie Guyon) Connect with Marjorie: Follow Could Be Pretty Cool News: @couldbeprettycool | | couldbeprettycoolnews.substack.com Keywords: public art, Marjorie Guyon, I Was Here project, Lexington Kentucky, ancestor portraits, arts nonprofit funding, trust-based philanthropy, South Arts, creative entrepreneurship, artist advice, community art, Southern arts, cultural sustainability, nation builders Learn more about your ad choices.

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