Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at the Jones Library

Get Up Get Down youth were honored in a celebratory unveiling of an interactive, multi-media bench project completed during the spring of last year. The bench was installed in front of the Jones Library in Amherst in early October, just in time for the Amherst art walk. A small crowd gathered outside the library on October 4th despite the dreary fall drizzle for a formal ribbon cutting ceremony.

Three of our youth who helped build the bench last spring--Tabitha Klamm, Marleigh Scheiding, and Silas Pilapil--spoke about the bench. We also heard from YAC director, Stacey Lennard, GUGD coordinator, Katie Richardson, and representatives from Jones Library and the Amherst Public Art Comission.

A press release, written by Katie Richardson tells us more about the bench project specifics:

          Public seating seems like an obvious affair- every town buys basic benches for residents to sit on and enjoy each other, wait for the bus, or sip their coffee. But youth from Get Up Get Down have reconsidered the bench and designed a dynamic and aesthetically pleasing bench that is sure to surprise you. The unveiling of this fabulous creation will took place at 5pm on October 4, 2012 (during Amherst ArtWalk) in front of the Jones Library where it has found its home.

          Get Up Get Down is a program of Youth Action Coalition, a non-profit organization that provides high-quality, free programs that address issues of social justice through the arts. Get Up Get Down, based in Amherst, focuses on public art, murals, metal work and other media of interest to youth.  The bench was a creation of last year’s team, and all are excited to see it unveiled for public use.

           Youth in the program worked very hard through variety of steps to complete the vision that started as a brainstorm last winter. They sketched and doodled and compared ideas; they looked at other public seating and discusses the benefits and detriments. Youth noticed a general lack of interaction between people in public spaces and began to consider how they could encourage it, or at least play with the tensions in their piece. The wanted to make a bench where people could face each other more easily and interact if they chose.

          Youth created a cardboard model, and when a general plan was agreed upon, they set to work. Through the generosity of staff at the Hampshire College Design Center, and with the assistance of program coordinator and interns, youth began bending large square pipes for the frame, plasma cutting the backrest, torching pieces to the bend and curve them, and welding the sections together.   Meanwhile, youth from another YAC program, Girls Eye View, were busy taking and printing photos in the darkroom to make the bench come to life. The wooden seats that fit into the frame are covered with black ad white photo collages depicting youth, Amherst and other things that passed by the many lenses.  Finally, the bench had to be coated with laquer, wax and epoxy to protect the surfaces.

          All together, the bench is truly a testament to the powerful work of mind, heart and hand that our youth are capable of. This bench has been welcomed by the board of the Jones Library. It will be a prominent feature in the Amherst landscape for years to come and cause viewers to pause and think each time they see it, as well as to entice those with a book and a coffee to sit and enjoy.