
Client: Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
Location: Houston, TX, United States
Completion date: 2016
Artwork budget: $200,000
Project Team
Other
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
Artist
Wendy Maruyama
Overview
This was a museum-curated exhibition sponsored by the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC). Our focus was to bring wildlife advocacy into the public view, bringing an interpretive display about the problem of elephant poaching in a museum setting.
Goals
While this is not exactly in the realm of commission work, it was a proposal funded by the Windgate Charitable Foundation. The goal was to borrow the idea of interactive displays that are often found in natural history museums and at interpretive centers found at historical landmarks. The main purpose is to bring an educational component into a museum setting, using handmade objects as a means of dispersing information.
Process
The proposal was presented to HCCC by the artist and their curator, Elizabeth Kozlowski applied for funding from the Windgate Foundation. She then designed the space and all the interpretive materials which was built around the pieces that I created for the exhibition.
Additional Information
My feeling is that the importance of advocacy within the work that we create is a powerful medium in and of itself. The process of making this type of work is cathartic and the work resonated particularly with children.