ARTtalk is a series of four events offering intimate, behind-the-scenes discussions with select artists from the visual and performing arts worlds appearing on the summer series. ARTtalks include:
July 3 at 5pm — “Threading Communities,” Kelsey Merreck Wagner
Introducing Kelsey Merreck Wagner’s artist’s residency at the Jim Thompson Farm in the Pak Thong Chai District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand in 2024. Wagner will discuss a selection of the exhibiting artists in Threading: Contemporary Art of Thailand, on view at the Turchin Center July 3-Dec 6.
About the artist
Kelsey Merreck Wagner (b. 1990) is a textile artist, anthropologist, and environmental activist. She received her B.A. (studio arts; focus: printmaking) at Western Michigan University, her M.A. (cultural studies & sustainability; focus: community-engaged arts) at Appalachian State University, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Michigan State University (anthropology; focus: environmental art and activism).
She has exhibited work internationally in Canada, Thailand, Cambodia, and Italy, as well as shows across the united states including Illinois, New York, Texas, North Carolina, Michigan, Virginia, and Ohio. Her work is held in private, public, and institutional collections around the world. She is represented by Warin Lab Contemporary in Thailand.
Wagner’s creative process addresses human-environment relationships, especially our connections to animals, the impacts of climate change, and the influx of trash in local ecosystems. Her earlier projects, which focused on elephants, bats, oysters, mussels, dolphins, and birds — were made from large monoprints, which she painted, embroidered and drew on before stuffing and sewing the pieces together into sculptures. Her ongoing work with textiles are weavings made with plastic bags and recycled materials. The process of weaving abandoned mediums into a narrative of human/product/environment relationships points to the complex web of ecology we live in, destroy, and seek to protect.
As a social-practice artist, she collaborates with artists, educators, and community members via research, workshops, and public art projects. She is a co-founding member of the ARTWORMS Mekong Artist Collective, as well as a committee member for the Blue Ridge Fiber Guild. Additionally, Wagner is a curator with a history of exhibits focused on socio-cultural-environmental issues.
