John Freyer is a social practice artist from Richmond, Virginia who has a focus on getting rid of the stigma around drug addiction. His Fifty/Fifty project is a traveling series of interdisciplinary, social practice art that creates and contributes to the dialogue around addiction and recovery by taking part in local, regional, and national events. The first of the 3 parts of the project was the Free Ice Water project. This was based on the concept of him learning how to listen again when he first started recovery. The idea was that two complete strangers would sit across from each other and have a conversation based on the prompt, "Talk about a turning point in your life." The second part of the series was Free Hot Coffee. This was a partnership with Rams and Recovery which is VCUs program for students who are in recovery/sober. John Freyer and the students in Rams and Recovery made what they call a 'Recovery Roast' which is a blend of coffee. They built a bike to travel and share their story and spread the idea that people who are recovering can be like everyone else and get a job and live independently. In a way it gave people in recovery someone to look up to. The last part of the project was Free Hot Supper which cumulated an opportunity for a larger dialogue with diverse and unexpected audiences, and it incorporated the ally concept they came up with earlier. Allies are people who don't want to talk about their past addiction or the topic itself, or may not have even had a past addiction, but they are supportive and understanding. I am really intrigued by Freyer's work. While it isn't something I would try to explore myself, I love all the concepts and want to learn more about his other projects (such as 'All my Life for Sale' in which he sold all of his belongings and traveled around the world to meet the people who bought something, and I'm curious why he did this and how he lived afterwards). The message he puts out with all of his work, removing the stigma attached to addicts who are recovering, is something I feel like isn't talked about enough today and something society should work on. His message is sent out in a very unique and interactive way, and collaborating with college kids adds to his exposure. I love the fact that he makes a coffee roast with them, I feel like thats a really creative and smart way to make his art interactive and always changing. I really like his work and I look forward to seeing what he does in the future.
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Julianne
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