Joyful Making in Perilous Times

What may seem like a fuzzy retreat from devastating personal, local, and global realities is in fact a tactile, humane action to seek alternatives. This thesis explores object-making in a world of hazardous objects and conditions, intertwining the gathering of found materials, rote-making and community engagement. The supporting document is presented as a matrix extending across five case studies of projects over the course of one calendar year. It is set in a journalistic format to engage a wide range of readers. Each project picks up threads of ideas and weaves them through information sources from both inside and outside the privileged space of the art institution, in loosely woven support of a complicating cultural practice.