Community Arts Paper
As I started to enjoy art more, I noticed that art existed in every aspect of my life — my walk home, my food, and even the holidays celebrated around me. Thus, the focus of my community arts project was holidays, specifically the Christmas Holiday Market at Union Square. I had heard about this location for years now from my friends, who always mentioned that it was a beautiful and enjoyable experience. I, however, never actually had the time to go out and see it. This project was the perfect excuse to go experience the wonderful, beautiful traditions of the holiday market. I specifically chose art in the form of the holiday market because I had always heard it was nicely decorated and an amazing experience. I was genuinely interested in seeing the beauty instead of just hearing about it.
I always considered myself an outsider to Christmas because I was born into a Muslim family. Growing up, everytime I brought home drawings of christmas trees from school and tried hanging them up, my mother would remind me that “We are Muslims.” She believed that it was not right for us to celebrate another religion’s traditions. Thus, everything I knew about the holiday was what I learned through movies or school. I watched, with remorse, as my friends posted pictures on instagram in front of decorated trees at their house. I would always wish I could do that too. Yet, I always understood where my mother was coming from and why she did not want to bring home a tree.
Even though I never experienced Christmas inside of my home, I still celebrated it to an extent. Every year, I would participate in Secret Santa with my friends. We would all write our names on a piece of paper and put it into a hat. From there, we would choose a name out of hat and would become their Secret Santa. On a specified day, we would go to one of my friend’s house, whichever friend that had the nicer tree that year. We would all put the presents under the tree and we would open them at the same time. Thus, I was not a complete outsider to the holiday, and in a way did participate in it.
To actually see the art, I visited the Holiday Market at Union Square- 14 Street. I was able to see why my friends believed the market was beautiful from the moment I walked through the opening. Lights were strung everywhere and even though it was after sunset, I was able to see everything clearly. Stands lined both sides of the path and people were selling everything from chocolate and food to lights and monkey products. Most of the items being sold were homemade and thus were unique. The overall aesthetic of the market was breathtaking.
As I walked through the market, I noticed the things we were taught to pay attention to in class: the “audience”, the “venue”, the “costumes”, and the lights. Except since this was located out in the open, the venue was just the stands and the audience was typical New Yorkers with their families. The costumes was what everyone was wearing: their typical clothes. These aspects prepared me for my presentation. They all added to the wonderful experience the Holiday Market provided. I took plenty of pictures and included them in the slides during the presentation.
I discovered that the holiday market was truly a form of community art. The location itself made it easily accessible for most New Yorkers since it was in the heart of the city and open to everyone. As I watched people having fun in the market, I noticed the community aspect. Everyone was either with family or friends. Everyone was either laughing or smiling.
I discovered that even though my mother never allowed me to participate in celebrating Christmas, I actually really want to. I decided that after I grow up and get my own house, I want to buy and decorate a christmas tree every year. I want my children growing up with the tradition of the holiday not because of the religion it represents but because it provides them with culture.
The main limitation I experienced while researching this art was the fact that never experienced Christmas traditions in my own house. I never felt the aspect of community when it came to this specific holiday so I had to learn through online and the physical visit to the market.
I want to perform more research on Christmas and actually begin to celebrate it. Most people believe that you have to be Christian to celebrate it, but I believe the culture and tradition of Christmas has transformed over the past decades to allow everyone to experience the culture.
