Living as Pedagogy: a four-part meditation on an ongoing, collaborative artwork among apartment neighbors
December 1, 2020
Text by Amanda Leigh Evans
By Amanda Leigh Evans
The Living School of Art (LSA) is an ongoing, intergenerational living art
project that takes the form of an alternative art school and artist collective.
It is located within a 120-unit affordable housing apartment complex in
East Portland, OR. Neighbors of all ages teach and contribute to activities such as cooking workshops, garden building and planting, performance games, crafts-based practices, and artmaking. Founded in 2016, the project includes exhibitions in 8 laundry rooms, a visiting artist residency program (with artists chosen by a youth committee), a community garden, a medicinal herb garden, and field trips. The project is Co-Founded and Directed by artist Amanda Leigh Evans, who lives in a basement apartment next door to a shared art studio space used for classes and gatherings. The project is funded by Community Engagement Org, a nonprofi t supporting artist projects in affordable housing buildings.
