This session will not be recorded.This session will be limited to the first 100 participants due to the interactive format.Since their inception, ARLIS/NA Conferences have been a source of more than professional development–they are a site to connect with new colleagues, one usually wouldn’t meet. Serendipitous encounters and connections at workshops, social gatherings, or lectures and the professional and personal relationships that develop are part of the magic of these conferences. Mail art, with its roots in conceptual art and Fluxus, also has the potential to facilitate long-term, long-distance connections through serendipitous first meetings. Since its inception, mail art remains one of the most accessible forms of art. It can be created using found materials and can be sent for the price of a stamp. Mail art adds a fundamental tactile element to the virtual conference setting and brings back the chance encounters that make ARLIS/NA conferences memorable.
Attendees can participate in the pre-conference mail art chain, create mail art during the workshop, or participate in both ways. Prior to the conference, ArLiSNAP will match participants who will then receive the contact information of their partner. As part of a collaboration with the Stimulating Creativity in Practice SIG, participants will have the option to contribute to a Reconciliation Address Book, an experimental mail network utilizing Indigenous place names. Mail art should be no larger than 9 x 12 in. and should be sent by April 28. Fill out
this form to be matched. Documentation of mail art will be compiled into an interactive arcGIS story map.
During the workshop, the interactive arcGIS story map and examples of mail art will be shared. Attendees who have not participated in the pre-conference mail art chain can be matched and will have time to create their correspondence. There will be time to share mail art and takeaways in Zoom breakout rooms.
