Flea Market Project

In fall of 2021, students in two SAIC class—Mary Jane Jacob’s Advanced Curatorial Practice and Amy Yoes’s Works Well With Others—began an investigation of sustainability and material practices in the face of the present climate change. They were joined by students in the National Academy of the Arts Masters in Public Art program in Oslo led by Merete Røstad. Those named Abakanowicz Fellows at the end of 2021 continue to collaborate in spring 2022 toward convening at the residency site Mildred’s Lane. Under the leadership of Institute Senior Fellow Mark Dion and Faculty Fellow Amy Yoes, they will plumb the depths of the nearby Scranton flea market. Through engaging this local community resource, they will investigate the meaning and life of things, the nature of sculpture, and alternative modes of exchange in light of lessons and their own consciousness around ethical art practices today. Multiple modes of making—from newly fashioned objects to exhibitions to a publication—are anticipated.