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[Portland] -- Guns permeate the American Landscape as much as mom and apple pie. Sometimes it seems that there are more guns here than apple pie. This year, the Portland Police Bureau transferred fifty seized and disabled street guns into the hands of some of the city's most expressive local artists resulting in one of the city's edgiest and most socially provocative art exhibitions this year.

The Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center Gallery presents a group exhibition entitled Guns in the Hands of Artists during the month of April (April 5 -27). A free, public opening reception will be hosted by the IFCC on First Thursday, April 5, 2001 from 6 to 7:30 pm. The IFCC is located at 5340 N. Interstate Avenue (Tri-Met Bus #5). Gallery hours are Tuesday - Saturday, noon to 5pm.

For the Guns in the Hands of Artists exhibition, disabled weaponry was authorized for art-making by Police Chief Mark Kroeker, Mayor Vera Katz, and the Portland City Council. Public artist Brian Borrello initiated the project and acts as a "conduit" for getting the confiscated guns to the arts community. Guns were inspected, processed, welded, dismantled, otherwise disabled and then made available for this current public art project. The guns were then distributed to sculptors, painters, photographers, furniture designers, metalsmiths, and a wide variety of creative artists.

The collected weapons, which were disabled, were turned over to artists to be "re-created" into objects of art -- captivating, hauntingly beautiful, powerfully suggestive references to our contemporary history and culture. You may anticipate some provocative art objects for display in exhibition for the public. (Not just metal sculptures - a range of work was created previously from literary artists as well, such as Walt Curtis, Andrei Codrescu and the late William Burroughs!) No political agenda is proposed here, no pro-gun/anti-gun stance, but a project and exhibition as forum for the community to consider, analyze, and acknowledge the presence of guns in our culture.

Featured works have been created by artists Paul Dahlquiest, damali ayo, Tad Savinar, Susan Seubert, Mark Lakeman, Brian Elliot, Kim Hamblin, poet/painter Walt Curtis, and many others. Symbolically, like the proverbial beating of swords into plowshares, you can view these weapons taken from the streets of Portland and transformed into artwork displayed on the walls and floor of the IFCC Gallery for the month of April.

The Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center is a community-based performing and visual arts center with an emphasis on multicultural issues and perspectives. The organization is committed to creating an environment in which people of every ethnic/cultural background come together as artists and audience to explore, preserve and celebrate their diversity.