A core component of the Colossal-curated exhibition, No One Knows All It Takes, is community participation. Each of the artists—Bryana Bibbs, Raoul Deal, Maria Gaspar, and Swoon (previously)—is deeply engaged with the people they portray and collaborate with, a commitment that inspires nuanced, insightful projects and a truly communal process.
As part of the exhibition at the Haggerty Museum of Art, we’ve considered how to reflect this mode of working through programming and a participatory project. The final piece in the show is Bibbs’ “Weaving Stories,” which consists of a large loom mounted on the gallery wall, along with threads, a paper shredder, and other materials nearby. Once viewers have considered each of the artists’ works, they’re invited to contribute to a collective tapestry on the loom or create a smaller, individual piece to take home.
Attuned to the sensitive subject matter of the exhibition, Bibbs asks participants to explore their own feelings and memories in response to the artworks. Viewers can even write down their thoughts and interlace their shredded notes into the final work.
In addition to “Weaving Stories,” No One Knows All It Takes also offers an opportunity to engage with Gaspar’s “Disappearance Jail (Wisconsin)” in a public event on October 9. Following a discussion about the intersection of art and incarceration with Dr. Robert S. Smith, the artist will lead attendees in a “punch party,” a workshop in which participants use a hole punch to obscure images of jails, prisons, and detention facilities. The completed works will then be re-hung in the gallery.
And lastly, Colossal will also be hosting a conversation with Deal and Dr. Sergio M. González about immigration, wellbeing, and making art in this increasingly precarious moment. We encourage attendees to spend time with Deal’s works in the exhibition prior to joining us for that discussion, which will be held on September 24.
No One Knows All It Takes is on view through December 20 in Milwaukee, with an opening reception on September 11. Find all of the programming on the museum’s website.
