Arlington Community Media Inc. host James Milan invited ACAC’s public art curator Cecily Miller and artist Michelle Lougee onto “Talk of the Town” to discuss ACAC’s exciting new Artist-in-Residence project. Designed to engage the whole community in creating the next public artwork for the Minuteman Bikeway, the Residency is part of PATHWAYS, a program that brings art to one of the busiest public spaces in the Cultural District. (Fun Fact: more than 320,000 Trips were counted on the Minuteman Bikeway from July to October, 2019)
Milan interviewed Lougee about her career and motivation as an artist as well as how her techniques – transforming trash into art – connect with environmental activism. Lougee began incorporating plastic into her work 15 years ago, when she heard about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and how plastic threatens the health of the oceans. While she aims to create something beautiful, she also hopes to raise awareness about the dangers of single-use plastic and encourage its elimination. To support this goal, Miller is enlisting help from many community partners whose mission is to protect the environment.
During the Residency, Lougee will lead free workshops and meet-ups at the Fox Library and other locations; everyone is invited to learn how to crochet with plastic yarn and contribute to the final sculpture. Miller also explained how this “craftivist” project builds on the installation of colorful sleeves that Adria Arch and the Arlington Knitting Brigade created for 12 trees along the Bikeway in 2017.
Watch the program and learn more about this exciting new project to create art with an environmental message for our public spaces. You can join in by attending a workshop, or by emailing the organizers for directions for making your own “plarn” contributions!
For More Information about the Artist-in-Residence Initiative, please visit the links here:
