Tam Makers, a community space offering workshops, classes, and tool-sharing in Mill Valley, California, is working on a project to encourage greater civic participation through the arts. The Art Float for Social Change is a parade float that will participate in Earth Day, Memorial Day, and Fourth of July parades throughout California this year, showcasing students’ work that incorporates interactive technology and art to represent messages of hope and a more just society. The project seeks to inspire social change and increase voter turnout by creating an engaging, entertaining, and participatory community experience.
Designed to be visually striking and interactive, the Art Float will feature a carousel of waving hands and a giant feathered serpent that not only demonstrates the skills of maker culture but also calls attention to the importance of protecting nature. The performers will tell stories of hope on a stage decorated with images of a better world, using live theater to invite onlookers to become more engaged citizens. Large signs throughout the float will invite people to speak up and vote for causes that matter to them.
Tam Makers is working closely with Tam High School and diverse volunteers from around the Bay Area to build and present the Art Float for Social Change, and is continuously seeking new collaborators to join the project. Volunteers can email float@tammakers.org and attend workshops on Thursday evenings or Saturday mornings throughout March and April.
The Art Float for Social Change draws from a long history of civic participation through artistic expression. Throughout the world, people have used parades and public art to voice their values, dissent from politics, and create spaces for dialogue and mobilization. The use of new technologies and an emphasis on audience participation adds a new layer to this tradition, as volunteer-makers and performers work together to find effective and creative ways to make a change.
The Art Float for Social Change aims to bring people together, to exchange ideas and opinions, and to celebrate the diversity of San Francisco Bay Area communities. By engaging youth and people of color, Tam Makers hopes to create a space of possibility and hope, where citizens can start to envision and create a better future together. The Art Float for Social Change is a timely reminder that art can help us bear witness, provoke our minds and hearts, and strengthen our commitment to democracy.