Artist seeking shoes for large scale sculpture.

WHAT: Call for shoes
WHERE: Brooklyn, USA
WHO: Everyone

Bronx-based, multimedia artist Melissa A. Calderon is seeking donations of old shoes to be included in a large scale sculpture. Below is a mock-up of the proposed sculpture. Donations are currently being accepted now through the summer - until the goal of 500 pairs of shoes is met.

The artist is looking specifically for women's high heel or work/dress shoes - dressy flats are acceptable as well.

This work will be done in collaboration with the students at Casita Maria during the artist's residency. The work will then be on exhibit this fall at Hunter College's new Spanish Harlem gallery in its inaugural exhibition curated by Puerto Rican artist Antonio Martorell and Curator Susana Torruella Leval.

If you have a donation for Melissa - please email her and she can arrange for a pick up or be able to let you know of drop-off locations in Brooklyn and The Bronx. She will be needing as many shoes possible - so if you have friends or work colleagues who could donate as well, please forward this message along. Any shoes in good condition after the work is deinstalled from Hunter will be donated to charity.

For drop off info & to contact the artist:
Melissa A. Calderon 

www.melissacalderon.com 

914.246.1851 

melissaacalderon@gmail.com

About the artist 

Melissa A. Calderon was born in 1974 and attended CUNY Lehman College in the Bronx. Using installation, photography, sculpture and video, the foundation of her work remains rooted in exploring the gap of disconnection from traditional roles; whether they are gender or culturally based. She has exhibited at El Museo del Barrio, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, The Queens Museum, The Portland Museum of Art, Longwood Art Project and BronxArtSpace among others. Melissa is a PEPATIAN artist; a South Bronx-based organization dedicated to creating, producing and supporting contemporary multi-disciplinary art by Latino and Bronx-based artists. Recently, Melissa was included in Frescos, featuring the work of 50 young contemporary artists from Puerto Rico and is currently working on an exhibition opening Fall 2011 curated by Antonio Martorell and Susana Torruella Leval. Calderon is currently am artist-in-residence at Casita Maria/Residency Unlimited. A self-taught artist, she lives and works in the Bronx.

About Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education 
Casita Maria, headquartered in the Hunts Point section of the South Bronx, was established in 1934 by Claire and Elizabeth Sullivan as the first charitable organization to serve Hispanics in New York City. It remains dedicated to its original mission – to empower youth and their families by creating a culture of learning through high quality social, cultural, and educational opportunities – delivering services to the mostly Hispanic youth, families and seniors of the community it serves. In 2009, Casita Maria inaugurated a state of the art facility encompassing performance spaces, exhibition gallery, dance and music studios, and more on its Simpson Street campus. This 90,000 square foot, six-story educational and cultural facility in collaboration with the Department of Education has enabled Casita Maria to expand its scope and capacities as a beacon of excellence.