Community Lost and Found

November 2020

I invited my neighbors to co-create an exhibit-on-a-fence designed to help us all process, grieve, and come together as a community as the COVID-19 Pandemic took hold.

The prompt for art-making:
In 2020, what have you lost? What have you found?

The project was a fruitful experiment in illustrating the power of participatory art to make our humanity visible and connect us to each other.

The project got quite a bit of press for such a small installation. And I saw, first-hand, the small ways that community can be grown and nurtured. The project inspired me to do more work in bringing museum-like activations outside the museum. (See also, my work creating FreeTheMuseum.org)

Community Lost and Found MD Facebook Page

#community engagement #popups #betterhumans

Our little exhibit was featured on NPR's Weekend Edition. Click here to read.

Our little exhibit was featured on NPR's Weekend Edition. Click here to read.

Flyer to recruit artist participants in my neighborhood

Flyer to recruit artist participants in my neighborhood

For me, crafting the wooden boxes with my hands (and a few slightly dangerous tools!) was a therapeutic activity in a time of uncertainty.

For me, crafting the wooden boxes with my hands (and a few slightly dangerous tools!) was a therapeutic activity in a time of uncertainty.

Seven neighbors - several with no art experiences - each created an assemblage art piece in one of the wooden boxes.

Seven neighbors - several with no art experiences - each created an assemblage art piece in one of the wooden boxes.

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Beloved artist/neighbors who contributed to the project.

Beloved artist/neighbors who contributed to the project.

One of the "lost" boxes created by Clarke Bedford - practiced assemblage artist and creator of the Vanadu House featured on Atlas Obscura.

One of the "lost" boxes created by Clarke Bedford - practiced assemblage artist and creator of the Vanadu House featured on Atlas Obscura.

Visitors left tags symbolizing their own "lost" and "found" experiences. Fire shape = lost, Mason jar shape = found

Visitors left tags symbolizing their own "lost" and "found" experiences. Fire shape = lost, Mason jar shape = found

Coverage on our local NBC News affiliate in Washington DC.

Coverage on our local NBC News affiliate in Washington DC.

Friend and colleague, Emma Thorne-Christy, created a companion "lost and found" project in Los Angelos using a physical to digital model. She posted paper flyers around town with tear-off phone numbers. People called in with their stories and Christy

Friend and colleague, Emma Thorne-Christy, created a companion "lost and found" project in Los Angelos using a physical to digital model. She posted paper flyers around town with tear-off phone numbers. People called in with their stories and Christy (and friends) created a series of short imaginative videos that were posted on Instagram (handle: @commuinitylostnfound) I ❤️ this project!