The Wisdom Exchange and other News
July at the Museum
It’s been a full month that I’ve been away from the museum. Feels strange. Haven’t been away this long since I started it more than five years ago.
But the break has my mind feeling like it may burst at the seams with new ideas.
And we’ve got our latest episode of the trailer build-out online!
Seeking Partners for the Fall Tour
We are in the process of planning our fall tour!
Currently, our plans are still up in the air, but it is looking like Portland, Boise, Salt Lake City, Boulder, Denver, and then back to Las Vegas.
We are still looking for spots in most of these locations, so if anyone has any ideas for local and small businesses or museums that might be interested in hosting us (and have room for our 42’ trailer), please reach out!!
To hear more about how we are planning the tours and when we might be in your area, check out the Curator’s Notebook section below!
Announcing our Wisdom Exchange
I recently created a set of “Rules to Work By.”
I even made a little poster of them to hang in my studio (when I get around to having a studio again… Someday.)
While making these, I spent a lot of time reading manifestos and lists and resolutions from various other artists and thinkers. Let me tell you, it was time well spent. It was like getting to learn from everyone else’s mistakes — getting to see what people needed reminding about, getting to see what they needed coaxing towards. It was deeply edifying. And finding the ones that spoke to me felt like starting a new type of collection.
So I’m launching another swap. This one, much like our Security Envelope Pattern Swap, will be free and open the first 100 people that signs up. But instead of sending pattern swatches, folks will be exchanging their hard-earned wisdom.
Everyone that participates will send out 5 envelopes with their “rules to work by,” or “rules to live by,” or some lessons learned, or even just little statements or affirmations that have helped them over time. In exchange, they will receive 5 envelopes with the same from strangers across the globe.
Of course I could collect these all digitally and post them online somewhere, but the analogue is more important to me. And the connection — between physical humans.
And I love the sort of metaphysical aspect - that the wisdoms that reach you might be exactly the ones the universe wants you to see. Like a sort of collaborative oracle.
I think it is going to be quite galvanic. If you’d like to participate, just follow this link, read the rules, and fill in the form!
[If you’re interested in reading more about my “Rules to Work By,” let me know!]
I want to share a bit about how we are planning the tour and when and where we decide to stop.
We only tour in the spring and fall (mid-April to end of May, and mid-September to end of October.)
I decided to do it this way for several reasons. One, we don’t have solid heating or air conditioning in the trailer, so shoulder seasons are really the sweet spot for us.
And, more, importantly, I feel like I need space for other projects. As an artist, running a small business is not my wheelhouse, but over the past five years that is exactly what my life has turned into. By only having the museum open in the fall and spring, I am hoping I can spend the other seasons getting back to making work! (So far, this has not been the case, but we are still working out lots of kinks. I’m sure as the traveling museum settles in, I’ll get better at dealing with all the thousands of moving parts that go into planning a tour!)
We are headed East - very slowly. As in, it will take us years.
Our plan since starting on the West Coast is just to very slowly make our way across the States, in order. We will be heading north in the spring and then south in the fall, sort of winding our way up and down from west to east. We anticipate it will take at least 4 years to make it to the East Coast. So if you are on that side of the country, please be patient with us!!
I’m including a *very* rough map of how we anticipate the tour to go. But this is highly variable and subject to change at a moment’s notice! (If we are skipping your area, don’t hesitate to reach out with partner suggestions!)
We are always looking for partners for our future stops.
If you know of a small business, arts org, or museum that has room for our 42’ trailer, please don’t hesitate to let us know! Even if it is years in the future, we are keeping a list!
And then??
Once we reach the East Coast, I don’t know what will happen. Maybe by then, I’ll want to turn around and keep going in the other direction! Maybe the trailer will have rattled all the collections to pieces. Maybe it’ll be time to focus on something new. (Though, my favorite dream is that we will haul the museum collections over to the UK, buy a narrowboat and build it out as a new version of the museum that will travel up and down the canals of Britain. If you don’t know what a narrowboat is, I recommend you dive in!)
Anyway, I hope that answers some questions about how this whole wild and epic tour is working. (Or trying to work!)
As always, don’t hesitate to leave a comment, question, or suggestion in the comments (or just respond to this email!)
Sending warm wishes from the road,
Jessica
ps. In case you could use a little extra joy in your day-to-day, don’t forget that we have several clubs (both paid and free) that you can join.