curatorial work, educational + social engagement initiatives
Sequesterings
The Center for Visual Art, Denver, CO
Aug 6 - Oct 24, 2026
In 2026, I co-curated this exhibition of Project Vortex artists with CVA Director, Cecily Cullen.
Featured Artists: Anna Mein, Blue McRight, Calder Kamin, Ian Trask, Kelsey Merrick Wagner, Natalya Khorover, Pamela “Posey” Moulton, Portia Munson, Aurora Robson, Twyla Exner.
Image Left: Pamela “Posey” Moulton, 2023, This is Pink #1, Discarded fishing net + latex paint on stretcher, 53 x 5”
A Rising Tide of Plastic in Art
Artrage, Norton Putter Gallery, Syracuse, NY
April 11 - May 23, 2026
In 2026, I curated this exhibition of Project Vortex artists featuring works by: Leticia Bajuyo, Alejandro Duran, Twyla Exner, Nicole Hixon, Natalya Khorover, Niki Lederer, Barbara Lubliner, Steve McPherson, Blue McRight, Anna Mein and Anne Percoco.
Image Left: Anna Mein, 2025, Infinite Loop, Found wood and plastic, 36 x 36 x 1"
Plastique
Opalka Gallery, Albany, NY
March 17, 2026 - April 18, 2026
In 2026, I curated this exhibtion of Project Vortex artists featuring works by Ellen Driscoll, Anna Mein, Portia Munson, Tyrome Tripoli, Twyla Exner, Natalya Khorover, Niki Lederer, Stephen McPherson, Aurora Robson and Pamela Moulton.
Image Left: Twyla Exner, Thing 5, 2012, Found woven telephone wire, 32 x 13 x 11”
Plasticulture: The Rise of Sustainable Practices With Polymers
In 2024, I curated this exhibition featuring Project Vortex artists including Leticia Bajuyo,Tom Deininger,Ellen Driscoll,Alejandro Duran, Natalya Khorover,Niki Lederer, Pam Longobardi, Kristyna and Marek Milde, Portia Munson, Bryan Northup, Studio KCA, Ian Trask, Tyrome Tripoli, and Benjamin Von Wong at the SVA Gallery in Chelsea, NYC.
A 360 tour of the exhibition is available by clicking on the image below.
Image left: Bryan Northup, Red Tide, 2017, found plastic and foam on canvas, 30 x 40 x 2”
9% Workshop
As of 2026, global estimates for the amount of plastic that is actually recycled remain at 9%.
In 2022, The International Sculpture Center invited me to design a creative stewardship workshop in advance of moderating a panel entitled 9% which I moderated on Earth Day featuring Project Vortex artists Leticia Bajuyo, Tom Deininger, Robin Frohardt, Studio KCA and Ben Von Wong.
In this quick workshop, I share a technique for intercepting the plastic waste stream to transform plastic pollution into a work of art with a technique that requires no expensive tools, equipment, hardware or adhesives. It is designed to encourage and facilitate going out in nature, collecting plastic debris and sequestering it into works of art.
Here is pdf with the tools you'll need.
Click on the image to the left to see the ~10min video/workshop.
Excess Packaging Workshops
Since 2013, I’ve worked with various communities sharing this method for intercepting the waste stream in art. It can present as collaborative or individual color wheels, or individual collages or other collaborative artworks. Packaging material exists in every imaginable color and is available at no cost. Packaging of this kind typically misrepresents the contents within it, making it suitable fodder for a more honest re-contextualization in art. I have conducted packaging workshops of this nature at the Ford Foundation, with students at PS50 in Queens, NY (pictured left), at The New York State Art Teachers Association Annual Conference, The Iowa Art Teachers Annual Conference, Middletown (NY) High School, various Girl Scouts groups, summer camps and with art teachers at The South Carolina Aquarium.
Public school budgets for art supplies are often slim. Working with excess paper packaging collected by students from cereal, toothpaste and other every day items is a resourceful reflective way to see potential in everyday items instead of traditional art supplies.
This workshop is suitable for ages ranging from 3rd grade - adult.
Sculpture + Intercepting the Waste Stream
Since 2012, I’ve been developing techniques for working with plastic and other debris that I’ve been sharing for adaptation in academic settings. This open source curriculum is designed to foster creative stewardship by providing a framework. As a model, it results in fruitful dialogue and highly charged social engagement at the intersection of art and science. (*For more information see my TEDx talk entitled Trash + Love.)
Initially, students engage in a river or shore clean-up by partnering with a local conservation group. The clean-up is also a hunt for “art supplies” to be used in the creation of a work of art that “can’t be confused with garbage” while meeting the criteria of being made from 99% non-biodegradable debris. With an emphasis on craftmanship and quality over quantity, the experience gives students an opportunity to be active agents of change and see their efforts result in the creation of value. The course culminates with a pop-up exhibition in a public cultural venue. The exhibition is also a silent auction/fundraiser. All proceeds from the sales go to support local conservation groups.
Project Vortex
In 2009, I founded Project Vortex.
Project Vortex is a growing, evolving international collective of artists, designers, and architects who work in innovative ways with post-consumer and post-industrial plastic with the shared aim of supporting conservation initiatives, raising awareness and sharing techniques for safely sculpting with this destructive invasive material.
In addition to working directly with this problematic material, many members conduct workshops, share open-source curriculum, or conduct teaching artist engagements around the world.
Image left: Aurora Robson, 2009, Kamilo, ocean plastic collected by the Hawaii Wildlife Fund