Saturday, April 23, 2011

EARTH DAY SWAP, UPCYCLE ART SHOW

Today was the annual NYU Swap-A-Palooza, and as I do every year, I showed up with a suitcase full of clothes, emptied it and left with a suitcase full of clothes. It's my yearly shopping extravaganza, except no money is exchanged -- usually. However, this year, I did, in fact, buy a pair of leather Marc Jacobs gloves from another swapper who'd found them. But it was a small price to pay for the suitcase full of clothing I took out of there.

Swapping is a great way to benefit the planet, and you don't have to stop at clothes. You can swap baby furniture (or adult furniture), books, CDs, bric-a-brac, dishes, art, food & recipes, and so much more. It's a simple concept, really, and it costs almost no money to produce a swap. If you don't have the space in your or a friend's home, often times a bar or local venue will offer the space in exchange for people buying drinks or paying a small cover.

For more interest about the Swap-A-Palooza or an update next year, join my mailing list or visit www.nonsensenyc.com, who usually lists the event.

I'd also like to share an art opening called, "Art from Detritus: Upcycling with Imagination" which takes place at the Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, or WAH, April 23rd - May 29 at 135 Broadway, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. For more info, call (718) 486-7372 or email wahcenter@earthlink.net.

From the press release:

"Since 1994, the changing group of artists in this exhibit has opened dialogues with viewers about the importance and usefulness of art as something beyond decoration. The current exhibit at the Williamsburgh Art and Historical Center is the 19th realization of the concept. This exhibition gives talented artists who are outside the mainstream and whose artwork does not fit the prevailing fashion, a much-needed opportunity to exhibit. By curatorial choice many of these artists are ”emerging” artists, and still unknown, who continue to make art in which they believe, despite fame & fortune, thus far, eluding them. These artists often cannot afford studio assistants or expensive materials and equipment for art making. All see beauty in the discarded that fills and eventually serves to destroy our environment and realize this is a satisfying and rewarding way to creatively deal with the problem of too much trash."

In short, it's a show of artists who make stuff from garbage -- they sound like people after our own heart.

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