BRING Gallery & Bag Habit

In late October of 2007 I took on a volunteer position as Gallery Co-Manager for BRING Recycling in Eugene, OR. BRING's mission is to promote recycling and thus as an extention of BRING Recycling, BRING Gallery's mission is to showcase the creative efforts of artists that aim to improve our relationship with the planet through their art.

It's been very exciting being part of shaping the vision and direction of BRING's art space. Together with my partner Elizabeth Lamb, we are working hard to make BRING Gallery into a professional non-profit art space. It has also been exciting to research art that matches the vision we have crafted for the gallery. 

One of the most exciting pieces I have come across thus far in my research is a piece by Canadian artist Shannon Harvey called Bag Habit. Her creation is essentially a gigantic shopping bag made from over 100 different bags all sewn together. This is the average number of bags used by just one Canadian over a four month period.

What is really cool about this piece is that it is a simple concept with an instant impact. The sheer size makes you think about all the waste. Not only that, but she used items readily available and involved her community in the project. Pretty cool.