A Common Thread
Recess, Brooklyn, NY, January 13 – March 4, 2022
A Common Thread was a community weaving and transformative justice studio hosted in Recess’ ground floor Session space. Over two months, Renee hosted one-on-one co-weaving sessions and thematic public conversations with transformative justice practitioners. These community engagement programs brought together artists, activists and community members, particularly those who have been impacted by the criminal legal system, to explore the potential for art-making as a collective healing practice. This program developed from discoveries Renee made in their own studio, using craft as a ritualized way to process trauma carried in the body.
Co-weaving sessions were structured conversations between Rowan, a guest and a docent from Recess’ Assembly program that took place around a 25-foot-long warp printing table and loom. Sessions began with a somatic drawing or meditation ritual, before a brief introductory conversation. After everyone felt comfortable in the space, the weaving portion of the session began. Guests were asked to bring material to contribute to the collaboratively woven textile that evoked something they wanted consider within a transformative justice framework. They were not required to explain or disclose details; the work of transformation would happen through the hands. While weaving, we held space for flow of conversation around the central premise of the project: how could weaving help us navigate the aftermath of harm?
The virtual conversation series invited four transformative justice practitioners – Alex Anderson, YaliniDream, Chloe Hayward and RJ Maccani – to speak about the experiences that led them to transformative justice as well as practical approaches to incorporating transformative justice ideas into our everyday lives. Following the conclusion of the Session program, Renee collaborated with Alex Anderson and The ReEntry Theater of Harlem to host a 5-session workshop with their Spring Fellowship cohort. Through all of these programs, Renee aimed to foster conversations that fundamentally rethink mainstream narratives about of crime and punishment while exploring collective art-making as a ritual of care and healing.
Image Credits: Amir Akram, Alex Anderson and Rowan Renee