Urban Ministry man

Weird Charlotte: Are you originally from Charlotte, or did you come here from somewhere else? If you came here from somewhere else, where was that, when did you land here, and why?

Lawrence: I came to Charlotte not because I was homeless but because of the homeless. I'd studied at Davidson and for its proximity to Charlotte I came in to the Urban Ministry Center and was really moved by the creativity of the community. I kept in touch. I'd been living in Japan and was thinking of heading back, but the volunteer coordinator at the Urban Ministry Center asked me to run some programs during the summer of 2002. Since I'm a self-taught artist myself, I did. The experience was amazing and the work clearly as important as anything else I could ever conceive of myself doing. I wrote an ASC grant which funded most of the first year and in the meantime the Urban Ministry Center helped create my staff postion as director of Art Works 945.

WC: Of all you've contributed to the cultural fabric of Charlotte, what are some of your personal favorites?

Lawrence: What we've done as a community at Art Works 945 (the homeless arts project) really makes me smile every day I wake up. The daily exchange across socio-economic and racial boundaries fascinates me. Who would've thought the homeless of Charlotte would've sold $60,000 of art in three and a half years, have their garden recognized as one of thirteen outstanding community gardens nationally, and fielded a soccer team that represented the United States in an international championship held in Edinburgh, Scotland? The ripple effects of what the homeless have achieved despite having the odds stacked against them not only persists but is growing in strength.

Aside from this project, I'm proud to have co-founded a pair of great events with my Colombian friend and fellow artist Edwin Gil in the Latino community that more gringo folk should check out: Con A de Arte, the Hispanic arts festival of Charlotte; and Charlotte Pinta La Virgen De Guadalupe, an exhibit open to anyone who wished to paint a painting in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe and to have that painting exhibited at the massive service for the Virgen held at Cricket Arena and attended by tens of thousands of people, mostly Mexicans.

WC: What strengthens your dedication to do what you do, in spite of the fact that Charlotte has not yet developed a critical mass of creatively-attuned people?

Lawrence: There is a critical mass of creatively-attuned people at 945 North College Street, and that community really sustains me.

WC: What sometimes discourages you about Charlotte and makes you dream of living somewhere else? And where would that somewhere else be?

Lawrence: I can't speak Japanese in Charlotte. The clubs are, well... I can't surf or snowboard, the public tranportation stinks, Freedom Park is too small, it's not fun to bike up and down South Boulevard to my home, and in general it's just too low-key of a place for my liking. Still, I never had any illusions and have been extemely happy with the life I've had here. Consequently, I'd love to move back to Sapporo where I can see the beach from the top of the mountains and there's a gorgeous riverside park through the city where everyone congregated and which is an ideal bike ride from the outskirts to the center city.

WC: What would help make Charlotte a more vibrant cultural city?

Lawrence: A river or a mountain. But seriously, larger-scale public transit than what's currently planned would contribute enormously to cultural vibrancy.

WC: What can we do right now to make Charlotte a more vibrant cultural city?

Lawrence: We need a unifying festival of some sort that everyone from workplaces to schools to community orgnizations takes part in. Uptown would close down for a couple days and everyone would come out. Maybe each group would practice weekly for months leading up to the big day on a group dance piece to electronic versions of bluegrass music or maybe it's just a giant film festival – we could have a local film industry, where local and idependent films would be shot on the side of buildings, something.

WC: Let's say there's some creative person out there who's considering moving to Charlotte. If you could say one thing to them, what would it be?

Lawrence: Put it off until you're married with kids.

artworks945@urbanminsitrycenter.org

704 926 0618

urbanministrycenter.org
communityworks945.org

4/8/06