Tree of care + wonder

Join Public Artist in Residence on Artists’ Row (PAiR) for the 2023 season, Claudia Paraschiv, for weekly conversation and art-making workshops to create the Tree of Care + Wonder / Árbol del Cuidado + del Maravillas, a large scale sculpture of a whimsical tree featuring migrant stories and a magical canopy!

The Tree of Care + Wonder / Árbol del Cuidado + del Maravillas will transform streets in Salem into community spaces of art and friendship to demonstrate the potential of streets to do more than move cars: local artists (poets, visual, musicians, dance, and theatre) will collaborate to produce civic-art events centered on migration stories, food memories, local history, and novel visions of how a future city might take care of and bring wonder to its residents. A gallery retrospective will be held in November/December 2023 on Artists’ Row/Old Town Hall.

All events and workshops are free to everyone and accessible to people of all abilities.

PARTNERS

Toni Waldron lives her mission - transforming traditional educational spaces to center the voices of those most pressed to the margins. Through her engagement with radical critical consciousness building and dialogue she brings a gender-expansive, decolonial, anti-racist framework into focus in her concepts and project building. 

Kristina Stevick is a Salem resident and the Producing Artistic Director of History Alive, Inc., an independent non-profit organization that teaches local history through theatre and the arts. Partnership with local theatre company History Alive will be key to interactive events on the street.

History Alive, Inc. is committed to the production of new plays and theatrical scenarios based on true stories from the past. Emphasis is given to interactive theatre so that actors and audience together, through a playful and dynamic way of engaging with history, might broaden their understanding of the present and gain a fresh sense of purpose within their own era. The company also seeks to invigorate the local economy by designing activities which connect the community and its visitors to a distinct, local history. Come play your part with us!

WORKSHOPS

FREE Weekly Public Workshops: May - August

Tree of Care + Wonder at Salem Farmers’ Market: Thursdays 3-6 (June 8 through October 12)

Gather around the Tree of Care + Wonder to share stories and make art. How do you care for your loved ones? How does your environment inspire wonder? What yearly migrations do you look forward to? Each week will feature a question and ur-form to inspire.

Wonder Kids’ Art Fridays 10:30-12:30

Join Wonder Kids’ Art Days for fun and easy art-making for the under 5 crowd and their caretakers. We will involve our little ones in helping make big art. We are collaborating with PEM Pals every first Friday during the summer, with a special on-Artists’ Row PEM Pals on August 4.

Process Art: Saturdays 10:30-12:30

Join for informal in-process art making every Saturday morning. You can help with the art task of the day, or bring your own art or craft to work on.

Wonderful Self-Care Café: Sundays, 3-5

Inspired by the Sabbath, we offer a time to relax and be together in a friendly atmosphere where we don’t make anything, except friends! Join us to relax, have a cup of coffee or tea, read a book, listen to some music, and just be.

civic art events

Open, free, accessible events on the streets of Salem with the Tree of Care+ Wonder/Árbol de Cuido + Maravillas!

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Salem Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. Supported in part by a grant from the Creative County Initiative of the Essex County Community Foundation.