PaperSpace: An Experience To Take Home

Authors:

• Lily Love Smith, Museology Graduate Program
• Chair: Meena Selvakumar
• Madison Sullivan
• Scott Mexcal

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Abstract:

The purpose of this project was to create a pop-up paper arts-based makerspace that encourages the learning of new skills in a communal setting. The makerspace entitled “PaperSpace: An Experience to Take Home” focused on fostering creativity through the art making process of paper collage. PaperSpace had six events starting in January 2023 and ending in April 2023 being hosted inside the Art Library on UW Seattle Campus. In a post COVID world, there has been a need for community rebuilding through art, creation, and gathering in communal spaces to nourish the effects of the Pandemic on communal artmaking. There were 87 participants total throughout all the events with 47 of them being UW affiliated. Participants were able to engage with and explore the many different materials and supplies that were available for use at each event with music playing in the background to calm nerves. Along with the makerspaces, this project included a PaperSpace scrapbook, official document, and an official Instagram account. By fostering creativity through paper collage in libraries, PaperSpace has shown that these spaces are needed, impactful, and allows for informal art education and learning in non-traditional settings, potentially even with museums.

Poster:

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Project Deliverable:

PaperSpace:An Experience To Take Home

Video Presentation