Community Cleanups and a Parade Encourage the Public to Serve
The Delaware Art Museum once again partners with the Wilmington community for Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. Monday, January 18, 2021 honors the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a national day of service that celebrates the civil rights leader’s life and legacy, and the Museum invites the community to volunteer for One Village Alliance and West Side Grows outdoor cleanups in the morning and early afternoon, via pre-registration, and to participate in the Peace March beginning at 2 p.m.
One Village Alliance, whose mission is to grow historically marginalized youth into their true greatness through education, economic development, and the arts, is a frequent partner of the Museum. The Alliance has moved into a new Freedom Center at 31st and Market Streets and has asked the community to help make the new space beautiful on this annual day of service. Individuals, pods, or household groups will work outside, socially distanced, to paint walls, maintain landscaping, create chalk messages of peace, and help with exterior cleanup.
Participants are asked to pre-register for a timeslot between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. The outdoor event at 31 West 31st Street requires participants to wear a mask. In lieu of or in addition to volunteering, donations are also encouraged. During the cleanup, vocal artists will perform, starting at 11 a.m.
Museum Audience Engagement Specialist Iz Balleto, who helped organize the partnership with One Village Alliance, said, “It is important the Delaware Art Museum backs up the community, especially on MLK Day. It is a day of activism, and one in which we take a moment to listen to the people on the ground. What better way to begin to heal than to work together, physically restoring our own community?”
West Side Grows Together is a coalition of residents, businesses, churches, and local leadership from the Cool Spring, Hilltop, Little Italy and The Flats neighborhoods. During an annual Community Clean Up and Peace March, participants will clean and beautify the exterior of the Teen Warehouse, 1121 Thatcher Street, as well as Be Ready CDC, 1411 W. 4th Street, and Helen Chambers Playground, 600 North Madison Street. Volunteers will clean the Peace March route, which runs along 4th Street, under I-95, and near the Adams Four Shopping Center.
Cleanup of the Teen Warehouse will begin at 10 a.m., the Be Ready CDC and Helen Chambers Playground begins at 11 a.m. The Peace March will begin at 2 p.m. at the Hicks Anderson Center, 501 North Madison Street. Parking is available onsite.
Pre-registration is required for the cleanups, but not the march. Face masks are required for any in-person events.
Balleto added, “Through the partnerships we have built over the years with One Village Alliance and West Side Grows, it’s only right to extend our hand and to foster those who have made the sacrifice to assist others through community service…and applying artivism at the same time,” referencing the term for activism through art.
The Museum recommends other ways to serve for those who cannot volunteer: donating school supplies or purchasing a Museum Art Kit for a family. The public is welcome to drop off new or like-new supplies at the Delaware Art Museum before January 18, during open hours, for One Village Alliance to distribute to students in need. A $20 donation provides an art kit, full of fun art supplies and a project inspired by the Museum’s collection, to a family in need.
Partnering with community organizations on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day speaks to the Museum’s mission “to connect people to art, offering an inclusive and essential community resource that through its collections, exhibitions, and programs, generates creative energy that sustains, enriches, empowers, and inspires,” and its vision, which includes strengthened connections to the community.
This event is a partnership with One Village Alliance, Guerrilla Republik, Center for Interventional Pain & Spine, and 302 Guns Down. This organization is supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events on www.DelawareScene.com.
Please contact Amelia Wiggins, Assistant Director of Learning and Engagement, at awiggins@delart.org or 302-351-8503.
About the Delaware Art Museum
For over 100 years, the Museum has served as a primary arts and cultural institution in Delaware. It is alive with experiences, discoveries, and activities to connect people with art and with each other. Originally created in 1912 to honor the renowned illustrator and Wilmington native, Howard Pyle, the Museum’s collection has grown to over 12,000 works of art in our building and sculpture garden. Also recognized for British Pre-Raphaelite art, the Museum is home to the most comprehensive collection of Pre-Raphaelite art on display outside of the United Kingdom and a growing collection of significant contemporary art.
Under the leadership of our Board of Trustees, the Delaware Art Museum is implementing a comprehensive approach to community and civic engagement. This exciting new strategic direction requires that we increase our value and relevance to all audiences. Visit delart.org for the latest exhibitions, programs, and performances or connect with us via social media.