Art Cycled
July 21 - August 3, 2018

Where some people see junk, others see potential. Local artists converge for this exhibition of recycled, upcycled, and just plain rescued art! This group-curated pop-up features work by established and emerging artists working in a wide variety of media for a limited time, now through August 3, 2018 in the East End of the Museum at Turtle Bay in Redding, CA. 

Artists include Maggie Baggett, Pat Carlson, Kim Fitzsimmons, Gini Holmes, Tina Keyes, Jason Luther, Michael Madden, Roberta Stone, Bruno Tomaino, Lita Villanueva, and Celeste White.

We are calling this group exhibition a “pop-up” because it appeared overnight and is only up for two weeks. In fact, this show is a decade in the making. The seeds were planted during the very popular Creek Art exhibition we hosted in 2008.  Those pieces were created from junk hauled out of waterways during a City of Redding Creek Cleanup. We knew we wanted to do something like it again. We just needed the right combination of space, time, and collaborators. 

A few months ago, the stars aligned and my nebulous plans came together when I partnered with one of the Creek Art artists, Celeste White to curate this show. She reached out to local established artists working in reused materials, and I contacted two emerging artists who make up-cycled art in their free time. 

Once we had artists interested, we decided to group curate with the participants rather than making all the decisions by ourselves. The artists posted images of the pieces they wanted to submit, and everyone voted on them with an eye to creating a cohesive exhibition. The artists’ statements are a testament to their different approaches to creating artwork. One of our goals was to highlight this diversity to inspire others to find ways to express themselves artistically.  

It has been one of the most rewarding curation experiences I’ve had in my 21 years at Turtle Bay. I could not have asked to work with a more talented or more delightful group of people.  Watching our guests encounter and react to the exhibition has been equally rewarding.  The variety of pieces and the range of unusual materials engage a broad audience from toddlers to their grandparents. 

We invite you to come in from 11-3 on Saturday, July 28  to meet the artists and make some art. Come by and see us. 

Julia Cronin, Curator of Collections and Exhibits