Arianna Richardson: Garbage Party

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Arianna Richardson, "Garbage Party," 2018

“Garbage Party” is an upcoming participatory art installation by local artist Arianna Richardson. This project is funded by the City of Lethbridge Small Projects Grant and will take place in two locations this fall:

September 15-21 in Galt Gardens, and September 22-28 in Indian Battle Park near the Baroness Picnic Shelter. The artist will be present on site daily from 2-4pm (with additional appearances on Sept. 15 from 10-12am and Sept 22 from 10-12am).

This interactive project invites visitors to interact with a 10ft long waste receptacle handcrafted from hardware mesh and woven with brilliant, nylon paracord. This non-permanent installation asks the public questions about their relationship with waste and recycling, presenting a playful and absurd site in which to engage in conversations about our consumer society and the impact of the waste it generates.

Garbage Party will stimulate a consideration of the impact of one's consumption in a non- confrontational, engaging, and approachable way. By presenting a heavy and gloomy conversation about waste and environmental destruction in a handcrafted and exuberant manner, Richardson is hopeful that visitors will be encouraged to participate and take positive action instead of feeling guilty and shamed for their complicity in consumer-driven, waste production systems. This project will be a place where people of all ages, genders, belief systems, and walks of life can engage with a subject matter that effects all of us and is of utmost importance to address if we are to collectively propel our city toward a positive future. For people who are not as familiar with these environmental concerns, it will be a place to learn and become engaged. For people who are already working to make our city a more environmentally sustainable place, it will be a project that continues to encourage and support them.

Artist Bio

Arianna Richardson is a sculptor, performance artist, and mother from Treaty Seven territory (Lethbridge, Alta.) who has recently graduated with an MFA from NSCAD University in Halifax, NS. Richardson most often works under the pseudonym, The Hobbyist, employing hobby-craft techniques to work through an investigation of ubiquitous consumption, gendered labour, waste, excess, and spectacle.

Richardson holds a BFA with Distinction in Studio Arts from the University of Lethbridge. She has been the recipient of several academic awards including the Roloff Beny Photography Scholarship in 2012 and the Alberta Arts Graduate Scholarship in 2016. This August, she will be travelling to Seattle, WA to participate in the Yellow Fish Durational Performance Art Festival. Her work was also recently featured in an article in the Globe and Mail (link below). Additionally, documentation of a recent performance by The Hobbyist at the Lumière Art-at-Night Festival (Sept 2017) will be featured in a forthcoming issue of the U.K. performance art journal,Performance Research (Autumn 2018, “On Generosity”).