Communications Committee Initiatives Spring 2014

DATE:  April 24, 2014     CATEGORIES:  Volunteering

Spring 2014 Participatory Projects

1. Community Mosaic!

Throughout the month of April, we will be accepting submissions for a large mosaic panel that will debut at Somerville Open Studios on May 2, 2014. These individual mosaic panels will be 8″ x 8″ and will be designed by members of our community. If you’re receiving this email, that means you’re invited to participate! The design/media for each of these panels is open ended, though if it uses electronics, we’ll have to account for it beforehand. Also, if your piece is 3-dimensional, it will need to have a flat back so we can mount it.

Here are some suggestions of mosaic panel submissions that we’d like to see!

• • Reinterpretation of the Artisan’s Asylum logo
• • An example of a skill/craft that you do at the Asylum
• • An advertisement for you or your business (frame a business card?)
• • A photograph, painting, drawing and/or collage (a mosaic within a mosaic!)
• • A wooden/metal 3-D sculpture (again, flat-back is needed)
• • A print-out of a schematic from a project you’re working on
• • An acrylic case containing something interesting
• • Written words about what you do; an interview; stream of consciousness; prose
• • Blinky lights and other fun stuff

To submit a piece, please fill out this form by clicking here.

Someone will contact you shortly, and we’ll arrange a time and place to pick up/drop off your submission.

If you have questions, please email communications@.
The final mosaic piece will be curated and assembled by the Communications Committee. It will be placed in either the Social Area or the Front Area (pending on completion of other Front Area / Gallery initiatives). The visual goal of this piece is to showcase the tremendous range of talent and interests that this community contains. Each member will have a limit of 8 total panel pieces for this installation. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that we can return your panel in pristine condition, but we’ll try!

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2. Facilities Directory & Map!

Having a map for the Front Area has been a long-time goal of the Asylum, and we’d like the creation of it to be as participatory and dynamic as possible. In mid-April, we’ll be adding a large map of the facility to the Front Desk area. We encourage members to contribute by overlaying different materials in the corresponding shop areas (e.g. the WoodShop area should have something wooden on it, the E&R area should have blinky lights!).

If you are interested in adding something to the map for the shop/shared areas, please fill out this form by clicking here.

We encourage each member space on the map to be customized as well; add your business card or attach a small representation or image of what you do at the Asylum! These submissions don’t have to be pre-approved via the form, feel free to add them to the map! Just make sure you’re only altering your own space. The map itself will debut in mid-April, and will remain an ongoing active project throughout the Spring and Summer.

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3. Mini Merch!

Have you seen the stickers and pins for sale at the Front Desk? Contribute your designs and we’ll print them out! All proceeds will go towards supporting Artisan’s Asylum. Templates and dimension specs for each are here:

Submit your designs by sending an email to communications@.
Please send .psd’s or .pdf’s with layers, if possible.

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4. Featured Member Profiles and & Project Showcases!

The Asylum is what the Asylum does.

That has been the Communications & Marketing strategy — and we want to know more about you and your work at the Asylum! This information will be used in promotional materials such as, brochures, handouts, the website, promotional materials, sponsorship documents, photographs, and tours. Our goal is to build a repository of featured members and projects that we can draw from as needed. Most of what we know about you is from word-of-mouth and we want to make sure it’s accurate when we promote you! Therefore, we ask that you submit one or both of the following forms if you’re interested in becoming a featured member or showcasing your project/business:

Featured Member Profile Application  Click here.

Featured Project/Business Showcase Application  Click here.

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5. Asylum Illustrations

Click here for the project page (has more information and images!).

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6. Additional Initiatives!

The following projects are in the domain of the Communications Committee and are actively ongoing. If you’d like to participate, please send an email to communications@

• • Signage for Front Area and Shops
• • Press Kit and Media for Fundraising
• • Artisan’s Asylum Style Guide and Templates
• • Communications Repository: Verbiage, Photos, Videos, and Interviews
• • Front Desk Infobook and Handouts
• • New Member Handbook
• • Tours for Upcoming Events and Special/Curated Tours
• • Newsletter(s)
• • And of course, your questions/suggestions/comments are welcome!

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7. Communications Committee: Get Involved!

The Communications Committee exists so you can make real and meaningful contributions to the Asylum through creative and strategic projects.

We are currently looking for volunteers with interest/experience in the following areas:

• • Illustration & Drawing
• • Interviewing & Press Writing
• • Copyediting
• • Signage and Wayfinding
• • Graphic Design (Print and Digital)
• • Photography Production and Editing
• • Video Production and Editing
• • Curation and Experience Design
• • Advertising (Print and Digital)
• • Event Planning

To join the Communications Committee, please send a blank email to communications-com-subscribe@

Questions? Contact Cira Louise Brown, Communications & Marketing Coordinator at communications@

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