"Two brown arms cross in the center of a drawing against a dark yellow background. A dark yellow diamond appears where the arms overlap. Connecting each hand are small balls of thread which are held in each hand. The curve of the thread is a purple s

illustration by Betsy Redelman Díaz

I Will Hold You Like A Thread: A Long Table Discussion Interlocking Relational Praxis and Craft Practice

VIRTUAL CONVERSATION ON CRAFT / Wednesday, August 17TH @ 4:00 - 5:30PM PST / 7:00PM EST VIA ZOOM

Beyond making artworks for exhibition or sale, studio practice shapes our perceptions and behaviors in life as a whole. As artists with illness and/or disability, we bring a unique set of skills to our creative practice. From the way we care for hearing aids or sound blocking headphones, to the ways we organize and take medication, or intentionally design safer spaces to decompress—we are experts at creating intimate relationships and rituals with the objects and environments that support our wellbeing. In I Will Hold You Like A Thread, we will discuss relational praxis as it relates to studio practice as artists with illness and/or disability. We'll share how what we make teaches us how to relate more creatively to that which is more than human—in service of a greater experience of supportive connection with the world.

*Note: This is a participatory, discussion-based event. Please log in ready to share your experiences, converse, and pose questions.

 

SORRY, REGISTRATION IS FULL

This event is full but if you are interested in receiving announcements on future Virtual Conversations on Craft, or would like updates from RCI, please join our mailing list below.

I Will Hold You Like A Thread is a free event. Registration limited to 85 attendees.

ASL interpretation, audio descriptions, and live captioning will be included throughout the program. This event will not be recorded.

Long Table Etiquette Guide:

  1. Conversations are improvised performances.

  2. Anyone seated 'at the table' is a guest performer.

  3. To participate, simply raise your hand. To leave the 'table' use the X function.

  4. Objects and experiences exist because of thought and research, therefore artists are thinkers and researchers, teachers and students.

  5. It is okay to be silent, to feel like laughing, and/or have the feeling of not knowing what to say. 

  6. Develop at least one question for another person when at the table - curiosity is an act of care. 

  7. If you leave the table you can come back again and again.

  8. All artists have cultural, economic and other experiences which influence the understanding and production of their work. 

  9. Be mindful of the use of the word 'we' - be specific about who you are speaking to or about.

  10. The Long Table is a space for questions and responses but not unsolicited advice.

 
"Nonbinary artist with piercings and tattoos with medium brown skin looks directly into camera thoughtfully. They have cropped blond hair and thick dark brows and large eyes. They are wearing a black beret and a dark sweater revealing a gold pendant.

HOSTED BY: Indira Allegra

Indira Allegra's works draw from an investigation of inner space, animism and the ritual, relational and performative aspects of weaving. Allegra's use of tension as creative material allows them to work as a social psychopomp exploring the transformative poetics of death, memorial and regeneration.

Their work has been featured in ARTFORUM, Art Journal and Emergency Index Vol. 8 and in exhibitions at the Museum of Arts and Design, the Arts Incubator in Chicago, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Center for Craft Creativity and Design and the Museum of the African Diaspora among others.

Allegra's writing has been featured in Theater, TEXTILE: Cloth and Culture, American Craft Magazine, Manual, Cream City Review, and Foglifter Magazine among others. They have been the recipient of numerous awards including the United States Artists Fellowship, Burke Prize, Gerbode Choreographer Award, Art Matters Fellowship, Mike Kelley Artist Project Grant and Joseph Henry Jackson Literary Award. They live and work in liminal spaces.

On instagram @indiraallegra & indiraallegra.com

 
"White, queer, crip, woman with wavy brown shoulder length hair, red lipstick, glasses and a silver nose ring. She is wearing a white shirt with large black circles and softly smiling in front of a hot pink background."

CURATEd by: Betsy Redelman díaz

Betsy Redelman Díaz is RCI's 2022 Guest Curator for Conversations on Craft. She is a queer crip artist and professor with a socially engaged and research-based practice. Her work explores the intersections between critical pedagogy, intersectional feminism, decolonization processes, disability justice, queerness, and craft, often manifesting in the form of collaborative projects, interdisciplinary courses, utilitarian ceramics, performance, writing, short films, and long conversations. Betsy received her MFA in Craft studies at Oregon College of Art and Craft in 2017 and her BA in International Studies from Loyola University Chicago in 2013. She has taught at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University and Herron School of Art + Design. Betsy has an upcoming solo exhibition entitled, queer crip craft library opening at Depauw University this fall.

betsyredelman.weebly.com