Love My Neighbor®: Board of Governors of the Scottsdale Townhouses Association, Inc Letter of Support

August 1, 2017

RE: Support for City of Carson Artist Alexey Steele and His “Love My Neighbor” Campaign Sponsored and Supported by the City of Carson, CA at Scottsdale

To Whom it May Concern:

We have witnessed many people come and go, attempt to start something but never follow-through, or stay long enough to make a lasting difference in our community. In the end, we have always been let down and have had to rely on dealing with our difficulties all by ourselves without much support or appreciation. For decades, this side of town and Scottsdale, in particular, have been underserved and have not benefited by the financial attention other parts of town have received. We are constantly being treated as a problem and liability and not as an asset.

Alexey's “Love My Neighbor Project” is helping to change this. We have many problems in Scottsdale. However, Scottsdale’s good people shine brighter because of these difficulties and Alexey’s work has allowed everyone to see it. It has not solved our problems, but has provided visible recognition and appreciation that helps us on our determined path of changing things positively at Scottsdale. Alexey and this project has strengthened our faith in the path we are taking in Scottsdale and that we will succeed.

The project also contributes to helping change attitudes of people outside of Scottsdale about our community. His artwork celebrates the true treasures of our people and it can be seen in his soulful and powerful depiction of our beloved gardener of 31 years and a former resident of 18 years, Cirilo Campos. It is an important contribution to our community 's self-awareness at the most critical moment when we finally sense that we can turn the corner to better Scottsdale.

Scottsdale is not an easy place and people here are rightfully skeptical of many things that come from outside. The live painting and drawing sessions by Alexey and the challenging work that creating this art requires, has opened a new world for us, that many people never thought possible in Scottsdale. His portrayal of familiar people has engaged the people of our community in a way they never have been in 51 years, and this is of tremendous importance for our vision of the future.

Alexey’s work has given us pride in our community and in the good people around us in Scottsdale. It proves that what we work so hard for in Scottsdale is truly worthy of our collective pride and contributing to rebuilding it. What Alexey is doing here works and we hope that this time it won't just come and go, but will continue. We are grateful to the City Council for helping fund this project and to everyone who supports it. We need this project to continue and hope that together we make Scottsdale an example of how people can overcome anything even when many don't believe it’s possible.

With Sincere Appreciation,

Board of Governors of the

Scottsdale Townhouses Association, Inc

"MY NEIGHBORS: Capturing the Soul of America's Diverse City" a series by Alexey Steele

There is a lot of adversity to overcome in today’s world. For me the answer to many difficult questions that we presented with daily is in the simple principle "Love My Neighbor".

Loving one’s neighbor is the foundational building block in the moral fiber of our society. I make my case with ongoing "My Neighbors Series" a collection of portrayals of the people around me in our City of Carson.

Carson is a great city, statistically one of the most diverse in the nation, a community most closely reflecting our World. Carson is great because of its people and the diversity is its most important asset.

I was honored to be awarded The City of Carson Cultural Arts Commission grant for 2015/16 and then again for 2016/17 to continue working on "My Neighbors Series" in collaboration with the City of Carson.

I was also honored to be awarded 2016 and, recently, 2017 additional grants by Wells Fargo Bank.

I am grateful for a long-term support and sponsorship for my cultural outreach programs by Rand Resources, LLC

It is a great privilege to collaborate and coordinate my Carson projects with 501c3 non-profit Artward Initiative.

Art can lift aspirations and give us all an important common ground in today’s divisive times. I believe that as we are continuously exposed to the stream of escalating negative news we need to focus on people in communities that inspire us in positive ways. I take inspiration for this series from my community that overcomes adversity.

Every street and every neighborhood has its own widely loved neighbors. What I want to capture through My Neighbors is the unique, iconic and deeply human qualities that make ordinary people the true bedrock of our communities and who give us something meaningful, true and solid to hold onto in times of trouble, which is especially important in neighborhoods like Scottsdale.

At the kind of times that we live in I want ART to help people fill what I call The Dignity Gap.

I believe that strengthening community bonds by getting to know and love one’s neighbors is an answer to many of the difficult issues facing society today. I hope that My Neighbors will encourage visitors to see their own neighbors from a new perspective and take the message of love for one’s neighbor back to their own streets.

I want to capture people in these painting who you cannot help but love. Through the Love My Neighbor public art project, I want to encourage other people to notice and embrace human beacons in their own neighborhoods.

These are the overlooked heroes of our society.

I also believe in the public nature of ART. In this I am following in the footsteps of my late father, an important Ukrainian artist Leonid Steele and this project is my homage to him.

Just as my father went into remote villages of Ukraine to capture the expression of real people and share it with them, I am following this family tradition to capture in paint the strength, the dignity and the grace at the rock bottom of our society, which is so often the bedrock of our community.

Alexey

Board of Governors of the Scottsdale Townhouses Association, Inc Letter of Support

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