Michelle Montjoy
2017 Artist in Residence   

DomesticACTion
April 22 to June 3, 2017

Closing Celebration: 
Saturday, June 3rd 2-6pm

​Based on the idea of domestic craft as a force of change, refuge and meditation, Art Produce Gallery will be transformed into a hub of activity. Participants will knit on giant looms, learn traditional cultural weaving techniques and engage with other community members in creating a collaborative installation that will evolve throughout the residency.

Participate in ongoing DomesticACTion workshops during the residency:
Wednesdays from 2-7pm (April 26-May 31)
Saturdays from 12-4pm (April 22-June 3)

Michelle will be joined by traditional Burmese weavers from Karen Organization of San Diego in the Gallery:

Saturday, May 20th  11am-6pm during the SDCCU Festival of Arts
Saturday, May 27th  12-4pm
Saturday, June 3rd  2-6pm  Closing Reception

More about the project:
This project, funded in part by the California Arts Council's Artists Activating Communities program, is a collaboration between Michelle Montjoy, local traditional artisans, and two neighboring San Diego communities. The goal is to bridge these communities through collaborative art practices and to celebrate the culture and art forms of the largely unnoticed local refugee community.

Connected by a busy transportation corridor, both neighborhoods are defined by a diversity of economies, cultures and development. North Park has benefited from a strong arts and culture component, now in jeopardy of being lost to gentrification. City Heights, distinguished as one of the largest immigrant and refugee communities in the US, has fewer public amenities and cultural opportunities and is more economically challenged than its neighbor.

Michelle will create an interactive gallery installation resulting from public workshops that bring together traditional weavers from the Burmese community with neighborhood families, youth, and seniors. The artist involves non-artists with non-traditional art materials in low-tech, easy to learn processes that engage all ages and skill levels. Utilizing oversized tabletop knitting looms participants will engage in conversation, creativity, cross-mentoring, and community-building as they work together and interact with the visiting public. The resulting forms and tapestries will be assembled into an installation in the Gallery, transforming the space into a combination of memory and place, referencing both the individual and collective process.
This activity is supported in part by the Artists Activating Communities program of the California Arts Council, a state agency. Learn more at www.arts.ca.gov.