Artscape, America’s largest free arts festival, took place in Baltimore, Maryland last month and we were so excited to have not just one, but two Philadelphia based groups of artists who used salvaged materials from The Resource Exchange in their Artscape Installations!

Local artists and Resource Exchange regulars Lauren Pakradooni and Mark Rice brought an interactive life size version of the table top game, “10,000,” to the Field Day portion of Artscape. They said, “The usual exclusivity of the table-top version of the game will be exchanged for an interactive and inviting environment for both players and spectators to learn the rules and cheer on their favorite players.” The game used 6 large soft dice, which were covered in bright yellow fabric that Lauren found at here at our store. The large mountain structure that serves as the backdrop of the game is built from lumber we salvaged from film and theatre sets.

Lauren and Mark even made posters and miniature game sets, given as prizes to winners, that were made from reclaimed materials from the re!

Salvaged materials from the re were also represented in the Open Space’s Alternative Art Fair at Artscape. The artist-run collective and gallery space, Little Berlin made an interactive installation that also used lumber that we saved from the set strike of a local theatre, and a reclaimed “local” sign. Their work, Between the Act and Motion,  featured “a reimagined subway station with a wall and advertisements that visitors to the fair are invited to collage onto…In addition to ongoing collage activity, the site served as an informal performance area populated by artists and musicians throughout the weekend.”

The lumber that was used to build the collage wall was made from sheets of lauan that came from The Walnut Street Theatre. The painted lauan was the stage floor for their productions of The Music Man and Elf.  

We’re pretty excited to have enabled reuse in these Artscape projects. Congratulations to Mark, Lauren, and The Little Berlin team for representing Philly at the fair, and thanks for sharing!