Lexa Walsh is an interdisciplinary socially engaged artist based in Oakland, CA working with conversation, food and music to create hospitable democracy. Walsh has lived, worked, exhibited and toured internationally. She was a recipient of Southern Exposure’s Alternative Exposure Award, the CEC Artslink Award, Meet the Composer Award, and the Gunk Grant. She has participated in projects across the east and west coasts at venues such as Apexart, Smack Mellon, The Exploratorium, The Lab, Mills College Art Museum, Oakland Museum of California, SFMoMA, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Portland Art Museum and has done several international artist residencies and projects in Europe and Asia. She is a graduate of PSU’s Art & Social Practice MFA program and was recently the Social Practice Artist in Residence at Portland Art Museum, and is the 2014 Artist Fellow at San Francisco’s deYoung Museum.
Current Projects:
Follow the links to learn more about Lexa’s most current projects
http://wcma.williams.edu/programs/
http://wcma.williams.edu/exhibit/both-sides-now-lexa-and-dan-walsh/
http://zine.artscopemagazine.com/2016/06/speaking-a-different-language/
Click here to Read “SPEAKING A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE: THE WALSHES IN WILLIAMSTOWN”
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ACA Community Artist-in-Residence Fall 2013 Project Description
While serving as ACA Community Artist-in-Residence for Fall 2013, Lexa Walsh created an alternative “Senior Club”, with a series of activities involving meals, recipes, songs, games, art making and workshops, that lend themselves to storytelling. She will record and present these stories and oral histories, via a community cookbook, audio and visual documentation. Click here to read article on Lexa’s residency featured in the Daytona Beach News Journal
GROUP ACTIVITIES:
SILVER SOCIAL Club with your charming hostess, Lexa Walsh created a temporary “senior club”, (open to any self-identified person over 50), with a series of activities involving meals, recipes, interviews, workshops, and activities that lend themselves to storytelling. Lexa photographed and recorded those stories; preserve and disseminate them via a community cookbook, a website, and an exhibition. “I want to offer a voice to members of the community, and value and preserve these voices by being an eager listener and documentarian”. The website, cookbook and exhibition brought together different communities of NSB together in one place, suggesting the possibility of a group identity. Click here to see the invitations. For more details visit http://acacommunityartist.tumblr.com
Meal Ticket – a weekly luncheon, gathering small groups to share a free home cooked meal and exchange recipes (for anything – not just food). These will be compiled into a Community Cookbook, printed in time for the holidays. Just bring yourself and an empty stomach.
Wednesdays, September 25th thru November 20th. Limited to 14
Workshops – weekly workshops and skill shares taught by local community members. Subjects may include cooking, finance, environment, travel, end of life planning, songwriting, etc. Suggestions welcome!
Occasional Saturdays, 2-5pm. Note ACA calendar for details. Refreshments served, RSVP recommended unless otherwise noted
Eulogy Workshop – How do we want to be remembered? Small group(s) will write our personal memoirs via the format of a eulogy. These will be read aloud to the group and be recorded. Bring a friend to help jog your memory & confidence.
Saturday, September 28th. Refreshments served, RSVP recommended
Sassy Sauces – A simple meal comes alive with a tasty sauce. Learn to make these quick, easy sauces: a basic Roux based sauce, Bechamel, Salsa Verde, Peanut Sauce, Aioli, Chutney, and more.
Saturday, October 19th. Refreshments served, RSVP required
INDIVIDUAL/FAMILY ACTIVITIES:
Collections – Show me your collections, whatever they may be. I will photograph and record our conversation about them. If your adult child who doesn’t appreciate your beloved objects is there for the conversation, it could get even more interesting…
Able – Let’s look at what you used to be able to do. I will document in photography and video, and record our conversation about how it feels to have limitations.
Compliments – I will record (on video) couples and/or parents and adult children sharing compliments that your fellow family members have written about you. Do we tell each other these things often enough? How do we feel about our complex family relationships? How can we enrich understanding in these relationships?
Calendar Gals (& Guys) – As we age we become invisible and desexualized. I will photograph you in a private session where you can feel beautiful and free to express yourself. You can choose what will happen with the photos.