C Drew - Street Artist Adventures

Greetings Protectors of Art Freedom,

This Friday we will ride in Critical Mass again to distribute free Art-Patches in the Art Patch Project’s next ART-ACTION of 2009. This time we will have a printing display and create art-patches on the spot for everyone free. Free-free-fun-fun-fun. Ha-ha.

By decision of the “Working Committee” for the Free Speech Artist’s Movement this last Sunday, the new name we are using for our community art initiative to make Chicago friendly to artists is the “ART PATCH PROJECT.” We simply reversed the first two words to better describe what it is we are doing. This also makes a better acronyme – APP vs PAP.

I am working on a major blog piece writing about my experience giving art away in front of the Merchandise Mart during Artropolis this year. My purpose is to explain the complex case law and the legal foundation as I understand it for our right to sell art on the streets and in the parks of Chicago. Too few artists and citizens understand our rights and this prevents us from changing the laws that limit our freedoms. I expect to post this Friday afternoon before heading out to the Critical Mass ride.

Until then check out this link to the Wikipedia to read a short article on how some of our First Amendment rights we enjoy today were won by the Wobblies during the turn of the last century.