Commonstudio’s collaborative urban afforestation project “The Mesquite Mile” was recently exhibited in two gallery shows. The first was the 25th Anniversary celebration of the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts (LHUCA) in downtown Lubbock, TX. This eclectic group show focused on the many local, regional, and international artists that have exhibited at LHUCA since its opening in 1997. The show opened on October 7th, 2022 as a part of Lubbock’s first Friday art walk event. The project was also included in the 64th Annual Permian Basin Juried Art Exhibition held at the Ellen Noël Art Museum in Odessa, TX. Both shows featured a 15 minute documentary film depicting the migration of a mature Mesquite tree (Prosopis glandulosa) as it makes a journey from rural to urban context in west Texas. More context on the work, and the film itself can be viewed HERE.
This piece is one part of a larger, long-term project in collaboration with Travis Neel and Erin Charpentier, and is supported in part by an Interchange Grant in 2021. Interchange is a program of the Mid-America Arts Alliance and funded by the Mellon Foundation. In spring of 2022, MAAA held a three day convening in Kansas City, KS which brought us together with other Interchange grantees to discuss the nature of socially-engaged creative practice. We were honored to be a part of it and met some great new friends.
