Charlottesville, VA –  Pauselab invites the community to participate in Cville Galaxy, an effort to break a Guinness Book of World Records for the Largest Cardboard Sculpture on Saturday, September 10th at 12:00 PM (noon) at the IX Art Park. The project also serves as a kick off event for a year long project called BeCville, which will ask residents how they want to spend $15000 on public art.

Developed through a collaboration between local teens and artists, Cville Galaxy will consist of a 35 foot by 35 foot sculpture made entirely of cardboard.  At the center of the sculpture will be a giant 20 foot tall rocket on which the community will be invited to write ideas for how they would improve their neighborhood and city. Surrounding the rocket will be plumes of smoke, stars, planets, a telescope, a statue, and host of other objects all made of cardboard. This effort will beat the present Guinness World Record of 31 feet by 31 feet that was accomplished in Hong Kong, China in Spring of 2016.

Over the summer of 2016, a group of local teens have been working with PauseLab as a part of the CAYIP program to imagine the future of their city.  The teens talked to residents, played with cardboard, and deeply considered what the future might hold for their city.  Out of all this work, they came up with the idea of creating a massive cardboard sculpture to engage the community in a similar conversation.

“The goal of this project is to inspire those living in this city,” said Pauselab Creative Director Matthew Slaats. “We know that there is an immense amount of knowledge, skills, and creativity in here, and we want to put those talents to use in making this city better for everyone.”

The community is also invited to play a role in making Cville Galaxy become a reality.  We invite anyone interested in volunteering to build the sculpture or get the word out to get in touch.

Funded by a Collaborative Action Grant from the national Enterprise Community Partners Inc., Cville Galaxy was selected as one of 15 organizations from a pool of over 110 applications. This grant supports small-scale, co-creative activities focused on promoting community engagement and fostering a sense of place.

About Pauselab –  The mission of PauseLab is to empower communities to create vibrant, livable cities through civic engagement, placemaking, and design thinking.  We do this by collaborating with residents to understand their needs and then working together to create projects the enliven neighborhoods. Pauselab is supported through a collaboration with the TJPDC Corporation.

About BeCville – BeCville puts the power of creating and funding local public art projects in the hands of residents.  In 2016 and 2017, BeCville will allow residents living on the south side of Charlottesville to decide how to spend $15000 on public art projects and programs that respond to community needs.

Media Contact:
Matthew Slaats
Creative Director PauseLab
(434) 249-6664 | [email protected]