WisdomTree Artes

WisdomTree Arts facilitates community engagement through the arts to catalyze positive changes in neighborhoods and forge connections and collaboration between artists, corporate sponsors, social service providers and community residents while creating transformative public art. The approach to public art involves art therapy which uses art media, the creative process, and the resulting artwork as a therapeutic and healing process. The primary technique involves the use of mural cloth which is painted and then permanently installed in the identified location. This method creates the possibility to create murals year-round and engage community members of all ages and abilities.

WisdomTree Arts Founder, Ellamonique Baccus is a professional artist and art therapist with a Master of Arts in Art Therapy from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She was trained in Renaissance Oil Painting at the Atelier Neo Medici in Monflanquin, France by Master Painter Patrick Betaudier and received her BFA in Painting from Bowling Green State University. In 2005, she developed WisdomTree Arts to create public art, provide arts education and community-based art therapy programs. Ella has completed over 30 public art projects in culturally diverse communities. Her expertise is at the intersection of community engagement through the arts, urban renewal, youth development, and artist training. By engaging community stakeholders through personal interviews and historical research, Ella documents and preserves the history of communities in public art that celebrates community strengths and leaves a legacy for future generations.

In addition to her work as an artist consultant through WisdomTree Arts, Ella is the Executive Director of Arts Partners where she leads a roster of 35 visual and performing artists who provide more than 10,000 encounters with the arts annually to students in grades Pre K to 12. In 2021, Ella received the Wichita Arts Council Chris Cherches Award, an award presented by the Design Council to honor excellence in public art. The award is in honor of Chris Cherches, Wichita’s city manager for 18 years, who was a strong advocate for the arts in the Wichita community.

En el desarrollo y la creación del arte público, WisdomTree Arts puede ofrecer las siguientes actividades:

• Reuniones con las partes interesadas - para identificar los lugares donde podría haber arte, compartir la historia cultural del barrio, presentar los diseños propuestos.
• Talleres comunitarios de arteterapia: consisten en la creación artística terapéutica en colaboración con miembros de un grupo específico, dirigida por un arteterapeuta cualificado. Las obras de arte de los participantes se incorporan al diseño de la obra de arte pública.
• Días de pintura comunitaria: miembros de la comunidad de todas las edades participan en la pintura del mural. No es necesario tener conocimientos de pintura para participar en esta actividad. Involucrar a los miembros de la comunidad en la creación de la obra de arte contribuye al embellecimiento de su barrio, preserva su legado histórico y es motivo de orgullo.
• Charlas de artistas - foro abierto para conocer al artista y la historia que hay detrás de la obra de arte público desarrollada para la comunidad anfitriona.

WisdomTree Arts ha involucrado a miles de jóvenes con acceso limitado a las artes en talleres de educación artística, formación artística y empleo, tanto virtual como presencialmente.

Las actividades educativas pueden incluir:

• Aprendizaje artístico para jóvenes
• Programa de charlas para artistas desde la guardería hasta la universidad
• Talleres escolares de arteterapia

El coste de los proyectos de arte público varía en función de los materiales y la mano de obra. Por lo general, un proyecto de arte público que incluye el proceso de diseño, la participación de la comunidad, la creación de la obra y la instalación cuesta a partir de $10.000.