Walking Libraries Interview in Moowon Journal

“Walking is often viewed as an act of resistance, at least in terms of the individual feeling empowered to shed societal expectations, identify tendencies to subjugate nature, and assess the status quo.”

– Abigail Doan, Environmental artist and researcher

So honored to have Walking Libraries (2016-2020) featured in Moowon Journal this month. Mona Kim, Moowon's founder, asked some wonderful questions as part of an interview feature in the article. 


All featured photos are from my on-foot travels in rural regions of the U.S. as well as Europe. Studio artifacts and objects were created as part of my documentation of  traces of atmospheric conditions and acts of resilience while out on the trail. "The development of Walking Libraries as an archiving concept and movement practice was a way for me to confront my own layers of mental stasis, and in turn, come into contact with my surroundings in ways that might reveal solutions for greater resiliency and connectedness moving forward."

Learn more about Moowon here and become a part of their community here.

PHOTOGRAPHY: COPYRIGHT © ABIGAIL DOAN. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
TEXT: COPYRIGHT © MONA KIM / MOOWON MAGAZINE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Prairie Editions | 2019

woven palm raffia vessel by Monica Hofstadter | photo: Abigail Doan

Several months have passed since my May artist residency at The Jennings Hotel in Joseph, Oregon, but the slower summer tempo has allowed for some reflection on my time out west and the documentation of materials and project ideas leading up to my stay and the days thereafter.

fusing ideas + materials for the prairie vessel and Walking Libraries artifacts

Walking Libraries artifacts documented in room 4 at The Jennings Hotel

My idea to commission the above prairie vessel from Brooklyn artist/designer, Monica Hofstadter, proved to be an ideal way to further my Walking Libraries investigations.

Monica offered brilliant ideas re: the creation of a hand-woven vessel (wearable art object) that was to help me store gathered materials while out on the prairie or visiting ghost towns.

We looked closely at tule mat weavings and cordage methods, storage vessels and baskets from native traditions in the region, as well as delving into Monica's previous collections and designs highlighting tactile experiments and soft forms. Our final solution for this edition was a distillation of/homage to these sources, and also the embodiment of a dialogue between creatives and places.

Abigail Doan | residency workspace at The Jennings Hotel

For more information on Monica Hofstadter's work, visit her website and Instagram. 

Midsummer Dream in Sweden

Good Work May Day Event: Fiber Bracelets for Iran

Recycled fiber, threads, and yarn strands with environmental art 

by Atefeh Khas and the Iranian New Art Collective as inspiration

I was thrilled to participate in Good Work's May Day celebration at the Textile Arts Center this past Sunday. My afternoon workshop was an occasion to craft fiber 'peace' bracelets to be exchanged with Atefeh Khas and Tara Goodarzy, Iranian environmental fiber artists who I have collaborated with in the past. The goal was to create a kit of braided bracelets that I will send to Iran in exchange for the contribution that these artists made to my exhibit, (Re)Fashioning Fiber, in NYC last May.

Braiding of fiber bracelets with imagery from Iranian artist friends

Participants sharing stories and a love of fiber at the 'Good Work' workshop

Natural dyes provided by jewelry designer, Erin Considine

Prepping the dye vats before immersing the bracelets

Plant dyed fiber bracelets drying in my studio

(These were left over bracelets made by the Iranian artists, 

dyed with natural plant dyes in Brooklyn this past Sunday)

'Good Work' worktable at the end of the afternoon.
These braided designs will be added to the dyed kit
of bracelets that I will send to Iran

Photos of the final mailing kit to be sent to Iran will be posted soon. I will also be returning Atefeh and Tara's 'fiber nets' after photographing them in Central Park. I want to extend a special thank you to Dr. Ahmad Nadalian, teacher and mentor to a whole generation of environmental artists in Iran. His work at the Paradise Art Center in Polour is where many of these artists have found a safe sanctuary to work and explore their ideas. He has been a great art friend and collaborator for the past several years. Congratulations also to Tali Weinberg, curator of 'Good Work', for an exceptional textile show and community building experience.

*all photos by Abigail Doan

(Re)Fashioning Fiber with Atefeh Khas, Tara Goodarzy, and Persian New Arts

'Mashalak Jangel' (photograph by Rahele Zomorrodinia)

(photograph by Rahele Zomorrodinia)

(photograph by Rahele Zomorrodinia)

I am thrilled to have Iranian fiber/environmental artists, Atefeh Khas and Tara Goodarzy, participating in the upcoming exhibit that I am curating, (Re)Fashioning Fiber at Greenspaces NY.

Portuguese Castle/Hormoz Island, Iran (photograph by Rahele Zomorrodinia)

I have been in touch with Atefeh over the past year or more - thanks to another outstanding Iranian environmental artist, Dr. Ahmad Nadalian at the Paradise Art Center in Polour, Iran. Atefeh and Tara have particpated in a wave of environmental art festivals in Iran (organized by Nadalian) as well as being founding members of The Persian New Art Collective. I also featured Atefeh and Tara's fiber 'peace bracelets' on Ecco*Eco in March.

Fiber installation in progress on Hormoz Island, Iran (photograph by Rahele Zomorrodinia)

Environmental fiber installation on Hormoz Island, Iran (photograph by Sharnaz Zarkesh)

Fiber installation at Orumieh Lake/Tabriz, Iran (photograph by Sharnaz Zarkesh)

These exquisite images really speak for themselves, and this for me, is the beauty of the site-specific, eco-crafting work that Atefeh, Tara, and their contemporaries collaborate on. Even though Iran is worlds away, these green forests, distant shores, and ancient salt lakes seem like they are all glistening and spun from the same elements and fiber as ours.

(Re)Fashioning Fiber opens on May 20 in NYC.

Aziumth: Writing on Walls at THE LAND

Azimuth: Writing on Walls
June 6 - July 17, 2009
Opening reception June 6, 6-9 pm

A text-environment based on a free renga by poet/writer, Miriam Sagan, and fourteen other poets at THE LAND/an art site gallery in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Miriam Sagan is the author of more than twenty books, including the recent Map of the Lost from University of New Mexico Press. Beginning with excerpts from poetry she wrote during her residency at THE LAND/an art site, she created this gallery-sized, collaborative poem with JB Bryan, Paula Castillo, Abigail Doan, Ephia, Dale Harris, Phyllis Hoge, J. A. Lee, Sabra Moore, Terry Mulert, Steve Peters, Suzanne Sbarge, John Tritica, Stefi Weisburd and Mera Wolf.

Opening a Book Exhibition Photos

THE LAND/gallery, Albuquerque, April 2009

Basia Irland (foreground), installation view

Basia Irland

Abigail Doan

Kathy Bruce

Mary Ellen Long

Mary Ellen Long

Curator notes, Jeffrey A. Lee

THE BOOK is, then, the container of provocation.[1]

Consider a book as a sequence (of texts, images, objects, ideas) bound or otherwise contained so that it’s kept together and in order. The binding or container also preserves its contents.

The book for me should be without limits, like the desert, thus an exploded book… a desert form whose only limits are the four horizons.[2]

Consider the sequence of seasons, of growth and perpetuation, of metamorphosis, or any other natural sequence. What binds it together or contains it? What preserves it? What interrupts or disturbs it, and what are the consequences?

Books, like ecologies, are local systems. Like an ecosystem, any part removed from a book compromises the whole. Unlike an ecosystem, anything put into a book can belong there.

THE SPACE we love is unwilling to remain permanently enclosed. It deploys and appears to move elsewhere without difficulty…[3]

I know from my experience that books ultimately convey their own unspeakable language to the solitary reader.[4]

A book is a sequence of spaces.[5]

[1] Dick Higgins
[2] Edmond Jabès
[3] Gaston Bachelard
[4] Harry Reese
[5] Ulises Carrión

Seasonal Shades Preview

My fiber enviro-book project, Seasonal Shades, is ready to travel out west to The LAND/an art site's gallery in Albuquerque, NM. Opening a Book opens Saturday, April 4, from 6pm - 9pm.