Visiting artist Harrell Fletcher of Portland, OR, presents a collaborative exhibition with 19 graduate and undergraduate students from the School of Art and Design at Alfred University, along with 130 first-year Foundation Program students, entitled “Some People, Alfred, NY,” in the Fosdick-Nelson Gallery, Harder Hall, now through Wednesday, March 26, 2008. This exhibition is open to the public free of charge.

Regular gallery times are Monday to Friday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

“Some People” is a project that builds new relationships within a community. Fletcher, an interdisciplinary artist interested in the dynamics of social spaces and communities, came to Alfred to give a four-day workshop in the School of Art and Design.

During his visit, he met with students and faculty to explain and implement the “Some People” project.
Participants of the group selected a person from the Alfred community and over the course of several weeks built a relationship with that person as they shared stories and interests. “Some People” is the culmination of the workshop with 19 documentaries of different Alfred community members illuminating their interests and uniqueness. The documentaries both honor the individual they represent and create a dialogue that paints a portrait of Alfred.

The show also includes a series of “zines” (zine is an abbreviation of the word fanzine originating from the word magazine, most commonly a small circulation, non-commercial publication, more broadly, any self-published work of minority interest) that document conversations and events from Alfred that will be available for distribution.

Following the exhibition, the documentaries will be displayed on Fletcher’s “Some People” Web site at www.harrellfletcher.com. Visitors to the site will be encouraged to submit their own documentaries as part of an ongoing mission to transform strangers into neighbors.