Rising. Curtains. Pt. 2 (Title TBD)
In 2024, “Rising. Curtains.” invited passersby to join in the locally loved craft of community beading, an ancient, global tradition to reflect on the story of climate change and collectively design the unwritten future.
The “front” of the curtain tells the story of time as we know it, in the form of a glittering curtain made of over 12,000 glass and stone beads mapping global surface temperatures in comparison to the average from 1901-2000. Interspersed are camouflaged words, sequenced in vertical and horizontal poems. No word is repeated. (Ask us if you want to know what the poems were!) The “back” shows us time in reverse — or maybe our future.
In 2025, we’re re-using and expanding on the curtain to weave in the story of wealth inequality. Details coming soon.
We’ve organized community beading, an ancient tradition found all over the world, in Queens since 2023. Across age, people have told us it’s calming, brings focus, and sparks creativity and community connection.
As a part of rituals of continuity, community beading is also simple form of fashion that is affordable and often starts a flow gift giving, within families and among strangers.
