A is for artist.

A is for alphabet.

A is for “The Artists’ Alphabet #1: The Great Recession”.

This project brings together eight artists to explore the theme of the Great Recession using the structure of an alphabet.

The idea is simple: each of the participating artists creates a piece of art for a letter in the alphabet. All 26 pieces are then combined into a book. The concept for this initial project is "The Great Recession" - responses, strategies, concerns, and thoughts related to the current economic meltdown. Anything from hope to panic to pragmatic advice to feelings of hope and liberation.

Once structure and topic were decided upon, a group of artists were invited to participate, and gathered at curator D. Jean Hester’s studio in May 2009. The letter “A” was reserved for an introductory essay. The artists each drew two or three letters at random from a coffee can, thus letting fate assign them their letters for the project. Once the artists had drawn their letters, the remaining letters, “I” and “O”, were dedicated to group projects. The artists dispersed to work on their projects, which were submitted two months later, and pulled together into this book. Hester also arranged for interviews with the artists (to address the group letter “I”), and set up time for a collaborative exquisite-corpse style drawing (to address the group letter “O”).

This book, “The Artists’ Alphabet #1: The Great Recession”, is the inaugural project for Powder Room Projects, established in Spring 2009 by D. Jean Hester as an accessible, flexible, small-scale, intimate, and sustainable creative base that will encourage collaboration and exchange amongst artists.