With What We Could Carry: Armenia

During a social practice residency in Armenia, Megan Young developed a new body of work around themes of migration, matriarchy, and the dreams of our elders. The project considers the responsibilities we embrace and what we shed as we travel across borders and through time.

Young partnered with Armenian artists and feminist groups to develop the initial gesture for this project, including: curatorial direction by Eva Khachatryan, the supportive resources of FemLibrary Armenia, and screen printing by Visual Gap Gallery. She produced a series of malleable textile objects noting how we prevail: “with what we could carry, with what we leave behind” set in a feminist variable typeface, Nari, developed by Aasawari Kulkarni.

The textile can be knotted into a loose bundle, suitable for carrying breads from street vendors, or formed into a pouch for jewelry. It can be draped in the home or displayed as a banner. Designed for use, the cotton/linen fibers will take on the scents, oils, and markings of experience. These multiples are being distributed freely to women in Armenia and the United States, thanks to project support by CEC ArtsLink and Suburb Platform.