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April 8, 2005/Adar II 28 5765, Volume 57, No. 32
Community leader gets roasted for charity
JENNIFER GOLDBERG
Staff Writer
Keep watching the intersection of Central Avenue and Roosevelt Street in downtown Phoenix; by next month, it will be the site of a public sculpture project dedicated to the healing power of art.
The sculpture, made from four tons of melted-down weapons, is the work of artist Robert Miley and Release the Fear, a nonprofit organization that holds workshops in schools and prisons and teaches conflict resolution through arts-based education.
To raise money for Release the Fear's educational programming, including the sculpture, the organization will hold a fund-raising roast of community leader Scott Jacobson at the Herberger Theater Center on Saturday, April 16.
"I'm trying to figure out why they chose me," Jacobson laughs. "It was a bit of a surprise to me. I'm sure I'll survive it, though."
Miley, the founder and artistic director of Release the Fear, explains, "Scott's usually the guy behind the podium, making light of everyone else. Everybody's very excited about turning the tables on him. It's all in good fun."
Jacobson is well-known in the Valley community as a passionate advocate for arts and social service organizations.
"Scott is tremendously articulate, community-minded and cares about the total environment in which we live," says Shelley Cohn, executive director of the Arizona Commission on the Arts. "Both in his career choices and his volunteer choices, he chooses to do things that change and improve the community."
Jacobson is the executive director of Valley Leadership, a nonprofit organization that seeks to develop current and future community leaders through educational programs. He has been involved with a number of community organizations, including the Phoenix Art Museum, Body Positive and Release the Fear.
"He's been our honorary co-chair since day one," says Miley. "He supported our efforts from the early stages of what we were doing."
Jacobson is outspoken in praise of the organization's work. "The process of producing art is a very healthy way for young people to express themselves and get some better understanding of their own emotions," he says.
The sculpture, when it is finished, will stand 20 feet tall. Messages of peace will be inscribed around the base, which will support an abstract human figure with arms outstretched. The weapons will be visible at the bottom of the sculpture, while the upper portions are crafted of smooth metal.
"It speaks to how art can help us transform," Miley says.
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