On Thursday August 17, from 5 - 7p, participants of all ages are invited both to bring in materials of their own, and to choose a range of materials from the newly-curated selection at Ely Center’s Materials Kitchen. Artists will work in community to fabricate miniature nomadic dwellings, considering the provocation of many of the works on display in Body’s First Architecture, and the promise of the nomadic dwelling as a safe space within our currently polarized political and social climate. As the curators write,

Many ancient societies, including the Greek, Roman and Mesopotamian, focused on the metaphor of weaving (the essential structure of warp and weft), as symbols of bringing together opposing points of view during civil strife. Ritual garments, such as cloaks, veils and overcoats, were often made as offerings to divinites during war time and transitions of power, and physically placed on the statue of the divinity. It comes as no surprise then, that during our currently polarized political and social climate, textiles have taken central stage in contemporary art. Body’s First Architecture explores the different approaches taken by artists to investigate the soft power and hopefulness that using fabric in art offers today.

Working in miniature will offer participants a new vantage point from which to view the earth and its inhabitants. By fabricating worlds in textiles and observing life as it is seen from tiny spaces, artists will deepen their understanding of worlds as yet unseen. This is second in a series after MENDING MEMORY on August 3.