donnamb 

If you're an artist, photographer, writer, poet, crafty type, or just plain creative, please take the time to read this. Feel free to pass this along to anyone or any site you wish.

In June 2008, City Hall in Portland will host the first ever Towards
Carfree Cities art show. The center-piece of this event, will be an
installation of original postcards sent from all over the world. We
are looking for any image celebrating alternatives to automobile
dependence; trains, trams, bicycles, scooters, skateboarders,
pedestrians, carfree public spaces, green-ways - or whatever comes to
mind when you think of freedom from cars.

We are seeking submissions from around the world and invite artists
everywhere (including Portland!) to send original postcards with a
carfree theme to:

Shift
P.O. Box 6662
Portland, Oregon
USA 97228

Please spread the word to your friends around the country and the
planet and encourage them to send a postcard (or two or three).

I suggest having a postcard-making party with your friends and family
over the coming holidays . . . . take a break from your regularly
scheduled holiday activities and spend some quality time painting,
drawing or collaging some carfree images onto postcard paper . . . .
put a stamp on there and send it to SHIFT !

Some ideas for simple postcards to make:

1. Photos, paintings and drawings of trains, trams, bikes, skaters, carfree plaza etc
2. Transit tickets or transit graphics glued to touristic postcards.
3. Bike or pedestrian maps glued to cards
4. Critical Mass or other action-flyers
5. Cafree Poetry
6. Comics
7. Stories about your experiences riding public transit, walking, biking, commuting to work on crosscountry-skis etc.
8. Pictures of carfree load carrying systems
9. Visions of a future free of cars
10. Whatever else you can think of !!!

To be transported by US mail with a regular postcard stamp, cards must
be at least 3 1/2"x5" and no bigger than 4 1/4"x6". Postcards can be
bigger, but please check your local postal restrictions and rates
before sending https://www.usps.com/. All postcard will become part of
a traveling exhibition, making future visits to cities hosting Carfree
events.

The Towards Carfree Cities art show is part of the World Carfree
Network's annual conference which will be taking place in Portland
next June. The theme of this year's conference is "Rediscovering
Proximity", but we want to keep the bigger picture in mind too. We
share our world with billions of other people, plants, creatures and
ecosystems - and our transportation and urban planning choices effect
the health of our planet. When we chose not to use motor-vehicles, and
to plan our cities so that they are accessible to pedestrians,
bicyclists and other non-motorized modes - we not only improve our own
local environment, but we also cast a vote for a more sustainable
future. We are very pleased that City Hall in Portland will open it's
doors to celebrate Carfree Cities and the interconnectedness between
our local and global communities.

For updates about the conference and the City Hall Art Show, please go
to: Carfree Portland
World Carfree Network

genericbikedude

This is a great event. I went two years ago. Awesome mix of professionals, activists, government people, academics, artists, etc etc etc.

donnamb 

This is the first time it will be held in North America.

kemmer

Like this?

donnamb 

Yeah. Just size it and use something that'll work for a postcard.

kemmer

Haha, really?

doofo

yeah r u srs donnab
?

donnamb 

Sorry, I only understand English.

doofo

lol

schnee

kemmer

rad.

donnamb 

I have one of those purple horn things on my bike. At least I usually do, but I took it off to put a Christmas garland on my handlebars.

willypilgrim

i almost spit beer all over after these 3 posts in a row.

donnamb 

Happy to entertain you. So do you have any artistic talent? Portland needs lots of carfree postcard art for this conference.

kemmer

There's mad artistic talent around here. There's even an art thread that get bumped from time to time. The space monkey spokecard exchange produced some really great stuff. The second one did to, but there was less participation.

pitboss

the kid on the velo - that has to be Northbrook, IL