Hey guys, do this:
In June 2008, City Hall in Portland will host the first ever Towards
Carfree Cities art show. The center-piece of this event, will be an
installation of original postcards sent from all over the world. We
are looking for any image celebrating alternatives to automobile
dependence; trains, trams, bicycles, scooters, skateboarders,
pedestrians, carfree public spaces, green-ways - or whatever comes to
mind when you think of freedom from cars.
We are seeking submissions from around the world and invite artists
everywhere (including Portland!) to send original postcards with a
carfree theme to:
Shift
P.O. Box 6662
Portland, Oregon
USA 97228
Please spread the word to your friends around the country and the
planet and encourage them to send a postcard (or two or three).
I suggest having a postcard-making party with your friends and family
over the coming holidays . . . . take a break from your regularly
scheduled holiday activities and spend some quality time painting,
drawing or collaging some carfree images onto postcard paper . . . .
put a stamp on there and send it to SHIFT !
Some ideas for simple postcards to make:
- Photos, paintings and drawings of trains, trams, bikes, skaters, carfree plaza etc
- Transit tickets or transit graphics glued to touristic postcards.
- Bike or pedestrian maps glued to cards
- Critical Mass or other action-flyers
- Cafree Poetry
- Comics
- Stories about your experiences riding public transit, walking, biking, commuting to work on crosscountry-skis etc.
- Pictures of carfree load carrying systems
- Visions of a future free of cars
- Whatever else you can think of !!!
To be transported by US mail with a regular postcard stamp, cards must
be at least 3 1/2"x5" and no bigger than 4 1/4"x6". Postcards can be
bigger, but please check your local postal restrictions and rates
before sending http://www.usps.com/. All postcard will become part of
a traveling exhibition, making future visits to cities hosting Carfree
events.
The Towards Carfree Cities art show is part of the World Carfree
Network's annual conference which will be taking place in Portland
next June. The theme of this year's conference is "Rediscovering
Proximity", but we want to keep the bigger picture in mind too. We
share our world with billions of other people, plants, creatures and
ecosystems - and our transportation and urban planning choices effect
the health of our planet. When we chose not to use motor-vehicles, and
to plan our cities so that they are accessible to pedestrians,
bicyclists and other non-motorized modes - we not only improve our own
local environment, but we also cast a vote for a more sustainable
future. We are very pleased that City Hall in Portland will open it's
doors to celebrate Carfree Cities and the interconnectedness between
our local and global communities.
For updates about the conference and the City Hall Art Show, please go
to: Carfree Portland
World Carfree Network
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"Real wars of words are harder to win. They require thought, insight, precision, articulation, knowledge, and experience. They require the humility to admit when you are wrong. They recognize that the dialectic is not about making us look at you, but about us all looking together for the truth."