Cindy:

I can understand your concern.  Those same conversations happened when I began planning the project at the Indiana State Museum.  I think what helped was that I already had a good relationship with the groups who volunteered to participate and were very amenable to our thoughts and  needs as a museum.  They didn’t bat an eye with what we discussed regarding restrictions.  They just loved the chance to be able to do the project and have a space that allowed them some artistic expression.  They really had fun with it.  Even those who came for our public day saw it as a time to get to know others like them and took direction really well on what spaces were available.  We have public art pieces all over our grounds and they respected keeping those clear of yarn and focused on the building and natural features.

The outdoor pieces remained up until the end of June and the museum took them down at that time.  We told the groups that was our plan and they expected that to happen.  A few of the indoor pieces were returned (they were just too cool to get rid of) but everything else was disposed of.  We wanted the installation to be up for an amount of time that it would drive visitors to the museum to see it.  We only had a few instances of outdoor pieces disappearing, but for the most part those remained intact.  We really didn’t have to worry about weather being a factor.  It worked out that we were in the beginnings of a drought.  Plus, again, it was only up for a month so that was a short amount of time that weather did not affect the pieces all that much.  Pieces in the museum were respected the same as our artifacts.  I was surprised at how well everything lasted.  I think overall most enjoyed being able to look at the pieces and treated it more as art.

I have a question for Katherine and any others who have done exterior yarnbomb projects.

What happens after the project’s launch?  Did the yarnbombers remove the work after a time? Did it get really ratty in changeable weather?

I have to confess I am sticking a giant crowbar in my head to keep an open mind about this. All of the projects mentioned in this thread were with the cooperation and agreement of the location, but I can’t help thinking that yarnbombing , as Deb wrote, is “ traditionally done without the knowledge of the bombee and are hit and run type activities.”

I don’t understand why so many see this as a positive thing. Yes, it can be beautiful, pretty, amazing; and I have admiration for the fiber artists skills.  But I don’t understand what makes it different from tagging or graffiti with paint.  Both seem disrespectful to me.

Again – this may be off-topic since you’re really discussing consensual art. But does it encourage the hit and run aspect?

Tramia:

The Indiana State Museum hosted a yarnbomb installation during the month of June.  We worked with volunteers from local crochet and knitting groups to be involved.  They specifically created pieces to go inside the museum galleries.  Knitters yarnbombed some of our structural details in the galleries like beams and the crocheters had fun creating three-dimensional pieces that enhanced our spaces and artifacts.  For example, they didn't yarnbomb an actual artifact but created a piece to complement it, such as creating a crochet tea set to sit on top of a sideboard or an inkwell to sit on an early nineteenth century desk.

We also hosted a public yarnbomb day to yarnbomb outdoor aspects of the museum during International Yarnbomb Day, which was June 9.  We had 17 people who participated and many more who stopped and learned about what we were doing.  We bombed pedestals, railings, trees and even large rocks. 

What really made this successful, besides the many volunteers who worked with us and LOVED the chance to yarnbomb the museum, was that I was able to get buy-in from the museum staff.  Curators, collections managers, conservators and leadership really embraced the project and our approach.  Many enjoyed it so much that they have given suggestions on what to do next time!

You may not necessarily need to commission an artist, but see who in your community would be open to doing a project like this and volunteer.  I found that many enjoyed the fact that we opened our doors to them and allowed them to be creative, but they also worked well with the few restrictions that we did have to impose.

If you would like more information, please contact Joanna E. Hahn, Manager of Arts and Culture Programs Office: 317.232.8293

Greetings all,

My museum is doing two exhibits on Fiber Art and we are interested in doing a yarnbombing in front of our facilities with local artists in our community.  Has anyone commissioned a yarnbombing in front of their museum? If so, what was your experience and what advice would you give to a museum interested in doing this kind of program?

Thank you,

Tramia Jackson

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