Byproduct: Renewal

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Artist: Eric May

Renewal 

Walnut Place Laundromat

Sunday, November 10, 2013

1:00 -5:00 pm

Free and open the public; tips welcomed/encouraged.

A laundromat is a place of cleanliness, relaxation, and renewal. For most, Sunday is laundry day and typically involves a day mixed with laziness as well as productivity. Renewal, an event that will take place at the Walnut Place Laundromat will consist of a schedule of activities, programs, and services that will seek to enhance the experience of the everyday chore of laundry.

Schedule

1:00-5:00 pm

D. Shattuck and Chad Kepler will offer a variety of natural and cleansing refreshments that will be served throughout the day, including beverages such as kombucha, home brewed iced tea, and iced water with hints of lemon or cucumber.  In addition, D. will be serving premium tea in a traditional Chinese style.

1:00 & 2:00 pm

Sitting is the new smoking and Abbi Miller will host a brief yoga session that will focus on sitting exercises, improving posture, and movements that will address common ailments from prolonged sitting. (Please consider bringing your own Yoga Mat).

3:30-5:00 pm

Partnering with Steph French, therapeutic neck massages from a professional masseuse will be offered on a first-come-first serve basis. Tips welcomed.

Renewal is a program designed by St. Louis based artist Alex Elmestad and is in conjunction with Byproduct: The Laundromat a project organized by Sean Starowitz, which aims to cultivate a deeper understanding of socially-engaged art practice in Kansas City. Through small-scale tutorials, invited conversations, and site-specific projects (during which program attendees actually do their laundry), Byproduct connects audiences that are interested in art that involves the community in unexpected ways: art goers, supporters, artists, and the immediate community.  All programming will take place at Walnut Place Laundromat, an unusual venue for such an event, but one that Starowitz hopes will challenge the notion of traditional art spaces.

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Alex Elmestad (b. 1984) is an artist, museum programmer, scholar, educator, writer, and curator. In 2007 he established a studio dedicated to spatial research and sensory design. Often collaborating with experts in diverse disciplines, his artistic practice explores social relations and perceptual phenomena through the manipulation of the natural or artificial environment. His practice is influenced by the human experience and often involves sincere conversations and relationships between collaborators and participants about varied subject matter. With this tactic, his practice becomes relational, and observers become willing participants. Projects often question the context and meaning of various forms of space, how we perceive our environments, and how that interpretation or misinterpretation connects participants to each other. Other prevalent themes in artistic works include experimentation with curiosity and self-discovery. Community also plays a large role, and his artistic projects blur the boundaries between art, architecture, public intervention, and activism.
In 2013 he founded Culture Agency, which produces interdisciplinary projects, events, and art that centers on public engagement. The urban environment and community acts as the creative platform, allowing artists to remain unconfined by physical space. There are no walls, limitations, or rules. Promoting collaboration and dialogue between multiple fields of knowledge, the social programming is dedicated to making culture accessible for all.

He received a BFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Kansas City Art Institute, studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and received an MA in History with a Concentration in Museum Studies from the University of Missouri–St. Louis. He is currently the Manager of Public Programs and Interpretation at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. He is also a guest lecturer at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, and his current research focuses on alternative museum practices and social practice in contemporary art.

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