Art + Design professors explore the subversive impulse with SMALL ACTS: The Craft of Subversion

CRAFT DESERT presents SMALL ACTS: The Craft of Subversion, an in-person exhibition taking place at the City Gallery at San Diego City College March 12 - April 13, 2022. The exhibition brings together artists and craftspeople currently working in the United States and Canada, whose work explores the subversive nature of craft.

This is the first exhibition by CRAFT DESERT, a collaboration between artist/craftspeople and SDSU professors Kerianne Quick (Jewelry/Metalsmithing ) and Adam John Manley (Furniture/Woodworking). The exhibition was designed and facilitated in cooperation with curator and gallery director Chantel Paul.

SMALL ACTS examines the impulse to question, subvert, or protest in contemporary craftwork. Works by more than 60 artists/craftspeople from across North America address the theme of subversion through a range of approaches, from the traditional to the conceptual, the functional to the experimental. To emphasize the power of even the smallest actions, the scale of the work was limited to that which could be shipped in a small, medium, or large USPS Priority Flat Rate mailer. Diverse in scope, each small or collapsable work, through form, subject, function, or context, represents an act of subversion – against established rules, principles, standards; of structures, institutions, or hierarchies.

Published biannually, the zine/journal CRAFT DESERT explores an expanded definition of craft practices in the southwest, showcasing makers, writers, and thinkers who exemplify a deep engagement with craft as knowledge, skill, power, strength, and magic.

Small Acts: The Craft of Subversion will be at the San Diego City College Gallery (1508 C St, AH 314, San Diego, CA 92101) March 12 - April 13, 2022. Show proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours to enter the gallery. Masks are required at all times.

The content within this article has been edited by Lizbeth Persons.