Spirit Dance (2023)

Part 2: 

Our conversation transitions to another key component that characterizes the organization, Threewalls’ Culture of Care. Nnenna expresses to me the vital impact of this defining principle within the organization in community outreach. 

Nnenna Okore: I think that having a culture of care is such an important one in today’s climate, just because there’s so much animosity in our society and environment, with people at war with each other. It is, for me, such an important element that should be embedded in every aspect of practice that people should make space for. When you implement care you’re not just caring about the things that you are engaged in, but also caring for the humans and the other things that affect the situations that people are involved in. For me, it’s important to just have the ability to slow down and listen to people when they’re involved in my practice. To understand where they’re coming from, trying to give them a voice, to allow other unknown perspectives in bright light. I find that that’s a way of practicing care from my own perspective. 

Another way, I believe is to allow people to freely engage, like when I do in my practice and studio work. I tend to not wanna go on too much or overdirect. I want people to really come at their own pace and to their own levels of comfort. Understanding, respecting people’s wishes, respecting their level of comfort and being enabled in that way, I think, shows a lot of care. 

It’s also caring to bring art to less privileged communities, like in the Albany Park neighborhood for instance, to the pockets of immigrant families and communities. It was really important that I found ways of bringing out the community centers, inviting them in and offering that space of collaboration. I think that culture of care is something that really needs to happen across the board and be injected into every aspect of life. Because in doing so, we really break up the barriers of animosity and suspicion and the other issues that arise when people are not informed, or people feel distant from a particular situation. 

We switch gears to Nnenna’s interest in sustainable alternatives to conventional plastic that not only tackle the urgent issue of plastic pollution, but also utilizes easily accessible resources in an imaginative and eco-conscious manner. 

Earth Matters (2023)

N: I’ve been doing this research about bioplastic, which is basically a nature-inspired plastic made from organic natural materials as a substitute for plastic material. But I decided that I was going to use food waste and food elements from my kitchen, like banana peels, orange peels, expired fruits, veggies, whatever I could get my hands on. 

Nnenna tells me that she previously faced hurdles in integrating her bioplastic research into institutional environments, due to concerns regarding its durability and practicality. Despite these challenges, Nnenna’s determination to explore and push the boundaries of her concept was supported and affirmed by Threewalls, reflecting the organization’s commitment to sustainability and innovation. 

We end our conversation on a holistic note, where Nnenna and I express similar sentiments concerning the seemingly expeditious fast pace notoriously present within the arts. It was affirming not to feel in exclusive isolation within the carrying of many social hats and practical roles. Nnenna’s warmly inviting transparency was a touching close to our interview.

N: I wish that I had that luxury of extra time to further connect these ideas through people, because my life is on a speeding game right now. I think if I did have that time to engage in community, it would allow me more ways to grow. Of course, I’m not not taking for granted the fact that I have what I have and I’m able to practice, within the constraints of time and still get as far as I do. That cannot be taken for granted, but I think that if there was one way I could add to my practice, it would be to increase my spare time. This is the experience of one who juggles so many roles. 

Nnenna Okore holds many roles as interdisciplinary artist, researcher, mother, theorist, sculptor professor, daughter, writer, dreamer – the inspiring encompassing list goes on and on. Through it all, she still finds time to direct her attention to the quotidian. From noticing the incremental changes and growths within a student, to analyzing the physical matter of her environment, she does it all, bearing forth her own flowers that she rightfully deserves.

RELATED SOURCES

Nnenna Okore Projects and Bioplastics

Earth Matters at Threewalls

Related Links

• Nnenna Okore Projects and Bioplastics
• Earth Matters at Threewalls