Chrysler art exhibition honors the creativity of its workers

RP news wires, Noria Corporation

The New Chrysler and the UAW on August 15 opened their largest employee art exhibit to celebrate the creativity and innovation that flourish from executive offices to the shop floor.

 

The jointly sponsored 2007-2008 Artists at Work Exhibition showcases 166 pieces of art, ranging from painting and sculpture to blown glass and photography, by 80 United Auto Workers-represented and non-bargaining unit employees.

 

UAW and Chrysler officials recognized the employee-artists at an evening reception at the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center (NTC). Artists at Work is the country’s only juried art show sponsored by a major corporation and a labor union.

 

From a record 1,869 entries, four judges from the professional art community chose pieces for the 2007-2008 exhibition, the seventh coordinated by the National Training Center since 1999. Judges awarded "best of show" prizes to three employees and also singled out 14 employees for honorable mention recognition.

 

“Artists at Work continues to be an important reminder of the sometimes unknown and unrecognized talents of Chrysler employees on the shop floor and throughout the corporation,” said the UAW’s John Byers, NTC co-director. “Their work is a tribute to their creative energy and innovative spirit – qualities they bring to their jobs as well as their art.”

 

Michael Brown, NTC co-director from Chrysler, said the 34 UAW members and 46 non-represented employees in the new exhibit represent a cross section of The New Chrysler. They come from 29 company locations.

 

“Artists at Work provides a unique opportunity for employee recognition and, as such, it has become part of our UAW-Chrysler culture,” said Brown. “We place a high priority on recognizing employees who set high standards and help to give The New Chrysler a competitive edge.”

 

Since its inception, the Artists at Work program has exhibited 932 pieces of art by 447 Chrysler employees.

 

This year’s first-place award winner is Christina Haylett, a process engineer at the Chrysler Technology Center in Auburn Hills, Mich. A member of UAW Local 212, she earned the top prize for a pastel on paper portrait and also received an honorable mention for another piece in the exhibit.

 

Haylett compares the artistic process to meditation as a source of personal perspective and relaxation. “It gives me a sense of joy and accomplishment I cannot duplicate anywhere else,” she said. “If someone else likes what I do, that is a bonus.”

 

James Donnellon, a product engineer at the Chrysler Technology Center, earned the second-place award with a blown-glass vase. Since introduced to glass blowing about 15 years ago, he’s been on a mission to help keep the 2,000-year-old art form alive.

 

“There’s a hypnotic feeling once you start playing with molten glass – it’s kind of hard to give it up,” said Donnellon.

 

Terence L. Malosh, a production operator at the Toledo (Ohio) North Assembly Plant, captured the third-place award with an offbeat photograph of a chicken staring at his camera.

 

The UAW Local 12 member considers photography an important creative outlet. “It’s always been very relaxing and satisfying for me to catch the beauty of the world with a click of the shutter on my camera,” said Malosh.

 

The 14 employees who received honorable mentions for 2007-2008 are:

Following today’s opening, the exhibit will travel to the Chrysler Technology Center where it may be viewed by employees and visitors at the headquarters complex for six weeks.

 

The National Training Center, located near downtown Detroit, will host the artwork for a year upon its return from corporate headquarters. The exhibit, which may be viewed online at www.uaw-chrysler.com, is not open to the public.

 

Artists at Work is one of 30 joint union-management programs administered by the National Training Center. Programs provide job-related training, work-life services and other educational opportunities for active UAW-represented Chrysler workers, as well as family members and retirees. Non-bargaining unit employees also benefit from NTC programs.