2021 Recipient of the Sustainable Arts Fellowship
There are multiple definitions of the word “culture”, and they seemingly come from completely unrelated realms. Some refer specifically to the arts and customs of a people, other definitions refer to cultivation, like cultured pearls and cultured milk. Not surprisingly, these definitions share a common origin: humankind’s agrarian roots. These various definitions indicate that culture, food, and traditions are inextricably linked, evolved concurrently and anchored to a geographic location.
For her residency at Gallery Aferro, Ruth Borgenicht plans to develop participatory tools to manifest the various incarnations of culture. And whenever possible, utilize locally scavenged materials and resources to link the works with a sense of place. Ultimately she would like to create a space to encourage interactivity by sharing food and inviting people to engage with objects and each other. Eagerly waiting a post-pandemic opportunity…..
With an intent to generate a sense of place and community through the interaction with her work, Borgenicht feels a responsibility to recognize, reinforce and enact interdependence and democratic values thus reinforcing connections amongst people to a locale and each other.