To define, wrote Henri Bergson is to enclose it into a definition. A definition is something that is finished and cannot change or debilitate unless we would like to change of definition. To characterize is to describe. It is to intend to talk about something that we cannot offer, don't want to freeze. That's why we shall intend to characterize what could be The Island in Tucson instead of reducin
g it to a definition with no possibility to see it growing and changing with time and from various encounters. Facts:
Fact #1: The Island In Tucson is a 7 acres land located on the edge of the Saguaro National Park. Fact #2: The organization is a run by artist non for profit. Fact #3: There is on the land a 40' shipping container with an adjacent roof of 40' x 40' where it is possible to gather and work. Fact #4: There is a 2,000 gallons water tank. Mission Statement:
This 1st intention to write a Mission Statement has to be understood as something to aspire to. It seems impossible to enclose The Island In Tucson inside a precise plan. At the origin there are various dreams, some utopias and a lot of unknown events yet. But we could say that at the beginning of this project there are intentions
1- To challenge traditional conventions of ownership, property and making of artistic projects. Most projects should stay on the land and should be discussed with the artists their vision about the decay and conservation of their work.
2- To insert art into a landscape with the intention to share the space and the energy with the other artworks and the community.
3- To encourage art that remains in the context for which it is created. A real site-specific art as it was at the origin to this concept.
4- To become by itself a center place for art in the world, an original place not dictated by the principles imposed by the market and fame.
5- To collaborate and share with the artists and the community the complete process around the making of the artwork.
6- To turn on a zero budget. The Island In Tucson receives ne funding-nor does it seek any. The organizers and artists themselves pay for all expenses. As a result of the zero-budget policy there is a necessity to find new ways to convey meaning and create experiences through the most economical means.
7- To participate in a collective art project that runs over time and in which each new invited artwork finds its place in a community of works that are diverse.
