mi casa, your casa by hector esrawe and ignacio cadena

mi casa, your casa by hector esrawe and ignacio cadena
photos courtesy of esrawe studio

‘mi casa, your casa’ is an installation conceptualized and developed by hector esrawe and ignacio cadena for the high museum of art in atlanta. the installation which opened in july will be on show until 30th, 2014.

mi casa-your casa is a site-specific installation that invites the community to actively participate in the life of the entire woodruff arts center campus through recreation, social interaction, performances, and art-making activities.

the installation provides a welcoming space where visitors can play, create and relax. hammocks, swings, easels, bins of chalk, and buckets of bubble water, among other elements, offer daytime ‘playtime’ options. the woodruff divisions (alliance theatre, atlanta symphony orchestra and arts for learning) have utilized the installation for performances, youth education and more over the past months.

‘mi casa, your casa’ features 40 three-dimensional open frames in the shape of a house, the houses form a blank canvas for community engagement and activity in a basic- straight foreword- form recognizable and relatable to all ages and cultures: the home, a simple metaphor of – warmth & welcoming.

this installation is inspired by the lively street markets -mercados- of latin america where human connections are made every day. the chromatic quality of the object responds to the red color painted steel structures that house each merchant and to design intention of creating high contrast against the white purity of richard mier´s and renzo piano´s architecture. the installation design objectives aspire to : intrigue, invite, activate, build connections, blur boundaries, engage with the community, amaze, wonder, travel, mutate, bring joy, build identity and a sense of belonging.

mi casa-your casa more than an installation is a living object, a space… to be inhabited, a stage… to be observed, a workshop… to learn and a blank canvas… for open expression and interactivity, not one related to technology, but to human physical interaction.

project credits

concept & creative direction: héctor esrawe & ignacio cadena

design team: esrawe + cadena ®

project management: javier garcía-rivera, ricardo bideau

operational coordination: jorge bracho, alberto lópez, joaquín cevallos

prototype: mario alberto gómez – magsa

production: manuel arevalo – disemo

esrawe + cadena team: javier garcia-rivera de la plaza, stella riesterer, mariana nuñez, berenice galindo, ignacio piedras, david flores, rodrigo casanova, gerardo galaviz, fernando ortega, angélica krinis, alberto lópez monzón, ricardo bideau, marcela fraustro, alan coria, sergio martínez, alejandro flores, marco montemayor.

high museum of art atlanta / woodruff arts center

curators: sarah schleuning, curator of decorative arts and design, virginia shearer, eleanor mcdonald storza director of education

core team: michael e. shapiro, nancy and holcombe t. green, jr. director, philip verre, chief operating officer, david brenneman, director of collections and exhibitions, amy simon, manager of exhibitions, elizabeth riccardi, coordinator of collections and exhibitions, erin dowdy, piazza programs coordinator.

installation team: brian kelly, chief preparator, gene clifton, senior preparator, tommy sapp, preparator, john paul floyd

key helpers: julia forbes, head of museum interpretation, angela jaeger, senior manager of creative services, jim waters, exhibition designer, erin dougherty, head of public programs and community engagement.