You know those industrious creative types who make you feel incredibly lazy, simply by virtue of how incredibly plugged in they are to their work? Then brace yourself, and meet Sarah Sandman and Melissa Small, the friends and Rhode Island School of Design grad students behind Gift Cycle, a chain letter-like project that connects emerging art talents from all over the country through their new work.

How so? Via recumbent bicycle, natch. Sandman and Smalls will hand deliver a piece of new artwork from an artist in one community to the next; the 3,000 mile cardio workout began in Providence on the 14th, and ends in Seattle, Washington, on August 30th, with tons of stops planned at community art centers along the way. The "cycle" will be completed when the girls give the artist in Providence the final piece from Seattle, and in turn prove their thesis (which was inspired by this book) that art is a gift, and through the circulation of gifts, we may strengthen our community.

"The premise for the work is that it be a gift of knowledge; any facet of cultural, emotional, intellectual knowledge that the artist feels compelled to share," Sandman explains. "The end goal is to connect artists from across the United States and bring the community closer. There are three things that are of the greatest value to Melissa and I—art, the environment, and community, and this manages to connect all three!"

Want to participate or fall along online? Visit their blog at giftcycle.typepad.com to find out when the girls will be coming through your city this summer!

- Kathyrn Eisenberg

Similar Topics:art, charity, eco

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