ADVOCACY & COMMUNITY
INTRODUCTION
Ideas are most powerful when they become something.
Sometimes that has meant creating public art that tells the story of a neighborhood. Sometimes it has meant building an event that gives artists a place to show their work. And sometimes it has meant recognizing a very immediate need in the community and finding a way to help.
These are a few of the projects I’ve been fortunate enough to conceive, organize, design, and help bring to life in Rochester.
THE SWILLBURG
HISTORICAL
MURAL PROJECT
INTRODUCTION
Rochester, NY • 2006
Commissioned by the Swillburg Neighborhood Association, the Swillburg Historical Mural Project tells the story of the neighborhood through five large-scale public art panels designed and painted by Maria Friske.
The project grew from extensive historical research and combines archaeological record, Haudenosaunee art and mythology, archival photography, Rochester history, and neighborhood stories into a continuous visual narrative.
The five panels move through centuries of history—from the Haudenosaunee creation story and the Erie Canal through abolition, neighborhood life, the Rochester Subway, and contemporary Swillburg.
A recurring pig motif connects the panels, referencing the agricultural history behind the Swillburg name while evolving visually along with the neighborhood.
Five Panels. One Neighborhood Story.
The Creator’s Garden
Always Know Your Neighbor
abolition, and Rochester’s role in the movement toward freedom.
Always Know Your Pal
A thriving neighborhood emerges, with canal workers, Lock 66, neighborhood families, and a young Cab Calloway, who was born on Cypress Street.
In Transit
Currents
Present-day Swillburg—eclectic, active, diverse, and connected to the larger Rochester community.
Press & Project Links
CITY Magazine —
“Maria Friske’s Roadside
Attraction”
A feature documenting the research, archival imagery, sketches, and creative process behind the project.
Swillburg Neighborhood
Association —
Pembroke Art Panels
ARTIST ROW
Creating a Place for Artists at the Rochester Public Market
Founded 2005
Artist Row began with a simple idea: create a high-quality juried arts festival that local artists could afford to participate in and the entire community could attend for free.
As an original member of the Friends of the Rochester Public Market, Maria Friske conceived, organized, and developed Artist Row at the historic Rochester Public Market.
She helped run the event during its first seven years and created its visual identity, logo, and marketing materials, continuing to support the event creatively after stepping back from its day-to-day organization.
Since 2005, Artist Row has brought together artists, artisans, musicians, families, food, and the greater Rochester community for an annual celebration at one of the city’s most distinctive public spaces.
Over the years, the juried show has included some of Rochester’s best-known artists alongside people exhibiting their work publicly for the first time.
That combination was central to the idea from the beginning: create a forum for exceptional established artists while providing a launching pad for emerging ones.
Artist Row is made possible by the Friends of the Rochester Public Market, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Artist Row Rochester
THE FAN CLUB
A Small Idea That Made a Big Difference
100 degrees—with no fan or air conditioning.
She decided to do something about it.
What began with a request on Facebook for donated fans quickly grew into a community-wide effort to help protect low-income and underserved older adults during Rochester’s hottest summer weather.
Maria founded the Fan Club and partnered with Lifespan of Greater Rochester, creating a simple system that could turn community generosity into direct assistance.
Lifespan collected donations and purchased new box fans, while
Meals on Wheels helped get those fans directly into the homes of older adults who needed them.
The response exceeded expectations.
In one season, the campaign raised nearly $15,000—almost three times its original $5,000 goal—and helped distribute more than 300 fans to area seniors.
What started as one person needing one fan became a grass roots community effort involving donors, volunteers, non profit organizations, local media, and hundreds of Rochester-area residents.
In the Press
Democrat & Chronicle — “Fan Club helps keep Rochester-area seniors cool”
Democrat & Chronicle — Fan Club Follow-Up Coverage
13WHAM — “Fan Club aims to keep seniors cool as hot weather moves in”
CLOSING
Creativity + Community
These projects are very different, but they share something important.
See something. Imagine what it could become. Bring people together. Make it happen.
Whether the result is a large-scale public artwork, an arts festival at the Public Market, or a box fan delivered to an older neighbor on a95-degree day, creativity has the ability to do more than communicate an idea.
It can build community.