The Architect

By Raymond Morua

Chris Velasco is the President and Executive Director of PLACE (Projects Linking Art, Community & Environment). PLACE is a non-profit developer that creates green communities throughout the U.S. and the UK. Velasco’s mission is to, “develop new live/ work communities that inspire and lift neighborhoods out of poverty while generating economic returns, renewable energy and green collar jobs”. For almost 20 years, Velasco has been active in the creation of these green communities. Velasco has “worked in over 200 cities, and has been responsible for the development of over $425 million worth of new facilities”.

The WAV (Working Artist Ventura) emphasis is on green living and micro- agriculture.  The WAV, Velasco states, “Provides commercial, office and retail space for creative small businesses, powered entirely by green energy... [The WAV also] offers affordable working and living space for artist, filmmakers, writers, musicians, etc…[The] residents at WAV share a sense of community”.  In an interview with James Scolari, Velasco pointed out the need for sustainability and the importance of community. “We want to highlight the lack of association between wealth, material possessions and people feeling fulfilled, humans flourishing. It's a very powerful idea to learn that when you create and imagine tools for these ideas of well-being and you begin to study it widely, you begin to discover that the things we think are necessary for vitality and health and well being and happiness are not connected to having a lot, and they're not connected to being wealthy. So I think one of the things that we'll see when people come to visit communities like WAV is that they will see that people who are at the bottom end of the income spectrum, and people at the top end, and everybody in between, really having a high quality of life, living in a community with each other”.

On the first Friday of every month, the WAV host their Art Walk. The Art Walk allows the community to come to the WAV to view art work and interact with the artists who live there. When asking the residents on their thoughts and views of Velasco and of WAV, the response has been pretty unanimous. The artists hold Velasco in the highest esteem; they had nothing but praise to offer. One artist told me that Velasco “brings a true grass roots democracy to the WAV, which the feeling of this community feels like the beginning of a new small country”. The same artist also stated that with the opening of WAV, Velasco gave a very motivating and inspirational speech, pointing out that his mother was his motivation and inspiration.

With the beginning of the 21^st century, Chris Velasco is definitely a trail blazer. His vision and work are on the fore front of the battle of our society, history does repeat itself. Will we repeat the follies of the Roman Empire, or will we repeat the cultural evolution and economic boom that came with the Renaissance. Thanks to Chris Velasco our communities stand a chance to repeat the latter.

For more information on the WAV project

www.WAV-Artists.com

Please visit the Arts & Culture section for WAV Artists interviews

The comic book picture is the cover to an upcoming comic book about the artists of the WAV.

We will feature more information on the sale of the comic book in the near future

Raymond Morua is the author & editor of The Shorn Ones