Justin Tellian's 'Brooklyn Dreamers' is part of Brave Brooklyn

Brave Brooklyn is an art exhibit and auction to benefit the Open Space Alliance for North Brooklyn (OSA) and Trust Art projects supported by OSA. Brave Brooklyn will be open to the public December 4-11.

Along with various other works, including that of pre-eminent sculptor Richard Serra and mixed-media artist Fred Tomaselli, this exhibition features the artwork of Trust Art artists proposing new public art projects in collaboration with OSA.

To help fundraise for Justin's public artwork, Portraits of Dreamers, Trust Art and OSA are auctioning this piece by Justin:

Brooklyn Dreamers, 2008, photography print, 16 x 16".
The artist shot the first DREAM group portrait in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in June 2008. His vision for this and all subsequent shoots for The Dreamers is a mixture of celebration and mise en scene that has continued in his shoots throughout the world.

Go to eBay to bid on this piece.  The starting bid is $800 and the auction closes on December 11 at 9pm (EST).

The work is on view until December 11 at 30 Dobbins Street in Williamsburg.  There is a closing reception open to the public on December 11, 6-9pm.  Join us if you are in Brooklyn!

Other artists in this exhibit include: Bradley Brown, James Case, Ryan Goolsby, Weston Woolly, Emily Goode, Suzanne Zwicky, Gidalya Tashman, Karl Metz, Adam Taye, Chris Burnside, James Woodward, Robbert Jan de Oude, Sam Martineau, Lizzy Wezler, Matt Jones, Kristin Deirup, Jesse Witkin, Kris Graves, Nathan Koch, and Molly Surno.

More info at bravebrooklyn.com


The Lost Dreamers

A-MA-ZING.  These two dreamers looked for us at the Berlin Wall but couldn't find us.  Instead, they ended up taking their own shots and sending them in, white beard and all.  Dress in white, get crazy, channel the dream, and send in your pics to jose@trustart.org.

The Dreamers of Berlin (Recap)

Berlin was amazing.  So many young people and so much art.  The streets are covered with it.     Justin felt at home and inspired.   We found a raw workspace for the week and inspired by all the art we were seeing, spent the week making it, and of course preparing for the big day.

When November 14 came, the beautiful spirit of dreaming was fully there: smiling faces, beautiful and sometimes hilarious white outfits, and kids!  Here are some of those pictures, and more in the Berlin image gallery.

The final Berlin picture will be revealed when all other cities have been visited.  Until then, keep dreaming.

November 14 - A Day for The Dreamers of Berlin

Justin preparing the flag.

The big day is here. The long, dreamy journey from Brooklyn and Mexico City to Berlin is culminating tomorrow saturday at the East Side Gallery. Come join us at 13:00!

We are looking forward to meeting you all.  Please feel free to share with the event with friends. The event is free and open to the public, the only thing you need to do is wear white clothes and bring your dreams.

Here is a good link about the event to share with friends: unlike.berlin.net

The First 72 Hours in Berlin

These are images by Anne McClain and Jason Fried of the first few dreamy days in Berlin: amazing public art, the big 20th anniversary party, and setting up the workshop. See the full album here.

Chaos, Confusion, and Jubilation - The Fall of the Berlin Wall

Here is a short 6 minutes documentary by Roy/SAC that shows the events that lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall and beyond.

Are You a Dreamer in Berlin? (the flyers)

These are the official flyers we will be passing out in Berlin. They were designed by Liz Tan. We will be passing them out during the Freedom Festival on November 9, where the city is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall.

Are You a Dreamer in Berlin? (the animation)

This video was created by AnimatedZeugto share the Berlin Dreamers project with people in Berlin; to invite them to the East Side Gallery on November 14, 2009. This section of the Berlin wall will act as the backdrop for a group portrait of people who consider themselves 'dreamers'. Everyone is invited to join: artists, poets, musicians, schoolchildren, lovers, and creators of all kinds. Please share this with anyone you know in Berlin.

The Dreamers project is uniting dreamers in five cities around the world. The project started in Brooklyn, just went to Mexico City, and will travel to Tokyo and Johannesburg 2010.

Berlin Details

Saturday November 14, 13:00h

At the "East Side Gallery", a section of the Berlin Wall on Mühlenstraße near these stations: U-Bahn Warschauer Straße and S-Bahn Ostbahnhof.

PLEASE WEAR WHITE CLOTHES, BE CREATIVE!

more info: trustart.org/justin-tellian; write to jose@trustart.org to get involved (we need DJs :).

We're getting closer to Berlin!

Here's how much time before the big day in Berlin:

We're getting closer to our fundraising goal.  8 prints have been sold, and 2 more are still available. A $100 donation will get you a beautiful print, hand-delivered by the artist if you are in New York.   Most importantly, we want to get as many dreamers as possible to come out for the Berlin shoot, so help us spread the word if you can.

Also, the negatives from the Mexico City Dreamers shoot have been developed and everything is in its perfectly exposed glory.  Now on to the re-touching phase.   However, the final image willl not be revealed until all the cities have been visited, so that we can unveil all five as a unified portrait of the worldwide movement of dreamers.

Fundraising for Berlin Dreamers

Our goal is to raise $3000 towards the production budget of the Berlin Dreamers portrait by November 14.  Here is the breakdown of what we need:

2 airfare tickets (photog, producer)......1200
Insurance...........................................500
Lodging..............................................700
Transportation.................................... 200
Film.................................................. 200

As every bit helps, we are asking for contributions of $10 (which make you a 'shareholder' of the project), as well as selling a beautiful print edition of the original Brooklyn Dreamers portrait.

Original Dreamers Print (picutred above)

A $100 contribution towards our fundraising goal of $3000 includes a 16" x 16" print of the image that inspired it all.  Thousands of artists, all over the world, have seen the Brooklyn Dreamers portrait.  The image has rallied people in New York, Mexico, Berlin and soon in Johanessburg and Tokyo.  There are only 10 prints available for this drive. If you like your art to be artifacts of real-word social victories, then this art is for you!

The Next Chapter: BERLIN --- November 14

The East Side Gallery (photo by marc hoffman)

Every time we've heard someone talking about Berlin in the last few years, it has been energizing. It seems like every young artist in Europe has Berlin on their radar, if they haven't already visited or moved there.  The city is young (it has been only 20 years old since the fall of the Wall) and maybe because ot the complexity of its past life, the love of Freedom is fundamental in Berlin.  An on-going city-wide affirmation. For us here in New York, Berlin seems like the bright-burning torch of Europe.

Researching places in Berlin to stage the portrait, we naturally came across images of the Berlin Wall. And to our great amazement, we realized that Berlin is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall this November, the same time we will be there to stage the portrait.  The universe is smiling at us!  So we kept digging around this idea of shooting at the Wall. 

Then we came across the photograph above.  The photo is by marc hoffman from at so-called 'East Side Gallery', one of the few remaining sections of the Berlin Wall, re-born when artists from all over the wolrd came to celebrate freedom in Berlin days after the Wall fell in 1989.  We realized we had found our sacred space.  An icon of the most serious proportions and tone, transformed by artists into a place of art, joy, and possibility.

The East Side Gallery will be the site for the next portrait of Dreamers on Saturday November 14, days after the Freedom Festival in Berlin. The meeting time is 13:00.    

Our task now:  to meditate on this space from afar; to get all of our friends involved, to connect with as many dreamers in Berlin as we can, and to raise the funds to "make the work" as Walt Whitman reminded himself.!  Our goal is to raise $3000 for the project by October 14 (primarily for airfare, lodging, and insurance; Europe is a little more expensive than Latin America!). 

We have some ideas in the works for a fundraising party in Brooklyn. If you wish to help in anyway, you can find more details about how to get involved and share this with friends with this gallery of images: The Next Chapter: Berlin.  You can also email : jose@trustart.org. 

DREAMERS - A Shareholder Report

The first bar chart, 1786

We have been raising funds for the DREAMERS project in an innovative way,  inviting people to 'become shareholders' and giving participants a stake in the success of the resulting prints sold at the first annual Trust Art auction next summer.  For this reason, we are making every effort to understand the art project from a financial/commercial perspective as well as its artistic merits.  

In this post, we are offering a transparent look at the expenses of the Mexico City portrait, as well as making our best estimate of the value of the services donated to the DREAMERS project for its first big milestone.   What we have realized is to what extent we are the beneficiaries of a wave of energy and resources from a wonderful group of people in both New York and Mexico City. 

                                  
Airfare                                                    $300
Printing                                                    $35
Production vehicle                                     $65
Equipment rental                                      $50
White fabric                                              $30
Hardware (pole, wire, paint)                      $30
Telecom (phone/text charges)                    $25

Total Expenses                                       $535

The rough tally of the services and in-kind contributions donated to the project:

1st Photo Assistant (Harry Fellows)            $450
2nd Photo Assistant (Seth Aylmer)             $450
Producer (Jose Serrano-Reyes)                 $1200
PR (Jose Rivera, Patricia Cordero)               $600
PAs (Alejandro de Gyves, Oscar Rivero)      $400

Videography/editing (Axel Guerrero)          $400

Event Photos (Jose Rivera, Maggie Turner, Anne McClain)      $300                            

Tripod (Harry Fellows):                              $100
Film (Patrick Randak):                               $300
Chassis (Patrick Randak):                          $100

Location  (Hilda Trujillo, Anahuacalli)         $1500
Accommodations (Oscar Rivero)                 $300
Refreshments (Semilla Mezcal)                   $400

Donations                                             $6700

The Mexico portrait came together for about 7% of its true financial cost ($7235). That should create confidence in the project's shareholders, for both its lean spending, and its ability to raise 'social capital'.

Being minddful of the economic prospects of the projects is only meaningful insofar as it complements our understanding of the most important ROI we seek for each of the projects: the authentic human connections that emerge from people participating in creative experiences togehter and the resulting uptick of inspiration in our society.

DREAM Mexico City - a Photo Re Cap of the Big Day

Despite the threat of a lingering thunderstorm, August 28th, 2009 was a good day for Dreamers, especially the 70 or so natives of Mexico City (and a few from New York!) who made it to Justin's inaugural, international, photo portrait. The final image that was captured won't be shown until all five have been printed, but here is a collage of images from the day (courtesy of Maggie Turner). Many thanks to all who showed up to make this a day one that will last long in our memories. We can hope it leads to more of such international exchanges of human solidarity, unfiltered by media commentary or government intervention. The Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli - a temple of indigenous art and volcanic rock.
Maggie Turners DREAM cards, on which participants wrote their dreams before the shoot.
Anne body-paints Jose with Diego Rivera-inspired imagery.
Harry gives the Sonamos flag a test run.
Wendell, Anne, and Jason - three fine looking Dreamers.
The world's awesomest street musicians who donned white for the event. She heard about the shoot the morning of, on Facebook, and decided to come check it out.
Justin Tellian: master photographer superhero of capes.
Maggie and Tess (thanks for leading us to the party, Tess!)
The DREAM crowd starts to gather in the museum's plaza, a plaza that was willed by Diego Rivera to be used for any kind of artistic expression by the people.
A beautiful mix of young and old.
The magnificent heroine and her athletic escort! The first raising of the people's flag.
Jason Fried: he wears a wonderful-smelling flower in his hat.
My DREAM right now: to fly off this rock step.
The crew tend to their positions.
Kat, the beautiful bride.
A dreamer recording her DREAM, lost in thought. The reason we all want pinwheels now.
Sonamos.
White hair wins the day.
All together, before the first take.

Axel Guerrero's DREAMERS Documentary - Teaser

Dreamers Mexico from Axel Guerrero on Vimeo.

Dreamers at Anahuacalli - Press Coverage

ONLINE VERSION OF ARTICLE IS HERE
PDF VERSION IS HERE

DREAM Shoot - Tomorrow!

The day we have been dreaming about has arrived.  A group of ten of us came from Brooklyn, New York to meet a whole crew of new friends that have been working hard to spread the word and collaborate with us in Mexico City.  It's been an awesome welcome.

Tomorrow, we invite all the dreamers in Mexico City to join us at the Anahuacalli Museum for the first international portrait of dreamers.  1pm, wear white.

See you there!

Museo 150, Col. San Pablo Tepetlapa (Between Division del Norte and Pacifico, entrance on Arbol de Fuego), Coyoacan

Updated Invites for DREAM - Mexico City

These are the latest flyers for the Mexico City DREAM project. Note the change of time to 1pm. The facebook event is here: www.facebook.com/DreamersMexico. And you can write to this email for more information:  trustartmexico@gmail.com

Patrocinando Soñadores

This e-flyer was designed by our partners MUPCOW in Mexico City. You may use it to spread word of the Mexico City project. Look out for more stuff from them. Many thanks to our Mexico City partners UN2go.org for making the connection.

DREAM of Mexico City

We are happy to announce that the first international city of Justin Tellian's DREAM project is Mexico City. We will be gathering hundreds of dreamers to stand for a group portrait in the plaza of Anacahualli Museum, a structure that was the dream of Diego Rivera, one of Mexico's most important artists.

The date for the shoot has been set for Saturday, August 29. We have assembled an amazing group of people in Mexico City that are helping us bring this together in a short amount of time. If you would like to be involved, email jose@trustart.org.

DOWNLOAD the PDF of the slide presentation above HERE.
THE SPANISH VERSION: AQUI.

Dreamers at the Norwood Club

These are 9 of the 35 portraits of dreamers taken at the Norwood Club on May 12 by Justin Tellian. People were invited to write out a message that begins with: "I DREAM OF...". The notes were attached to helium-filled balloons, and the subjects photographed with their dreams. At the end of the evening, the balloons with the dreams were LET GO.

Click on the pictures to see them enlarged.