On MLK Day of Service, bcWORKSHOP Turns History Into Art to Find Way to the Future

Last year, you may recall, Brent Brown's bcWORKSHOP spent the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service by posting 'round town those cutouts intended to raise awareness about how to end homelessness; but in the end, the city didn't take kindly to their presence, threatening to remove them for being...

By Robert Wilonsky

January 16, 2012

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Last year, you may recall, Brent Brown's bcWORKSHOP spent the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service by posting 'round town those cutouts intended to raise awareness about how to end homelessness; but in the end, the city didn't take kindly to their presence, threatening to remove them for being in violation of city code. Moments ago we got word: bcWORKSHOP is once again putting up signs in various parts of town.

But this year's project has a decidedly different agenda: Titled Public Info Act(s), the markers-slash-art installations being placed in front of four different buildings are "designed to inform the public about the city's past in order to generate ideas to enhance its future." You can see the markers here, where you'll note the structures: the former Knights of Pythias Temple in Deep Ellum, the Forest Theater (which, as you'll note in the photo below, is still in need of someone to take over where Erykah Badu left off), Frederick Douglass Elementary School and the Sunshine Elizabeth Church in Oak Cliff.

Says the PIA(s) website, "These Act(s) intend to empower people, foster neighborliness and inspire civic engagement. We believe people determine the shape of the places they inhabit and those places should be made for them, by them, with civility and respect for the public good." Hence, as you'll see, the comments section asking for suggestions about what to do with these historic sites.

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