This is a collaborative project commemorating our past pets on the chairs of Elsewhere Museum initiated by artist in residence Manon Wada, with Avery Rose joining as a main collaborator.

Fill out the form to have one of Elsewhere’s chairs prominently feature your pet’s name with a description and favorite memory attached.

Alyzza May (Greensboro, NC) | December 2021

"Focusing on home, place, belonging, the hyper-visibility and invisibility of Indigenous peoples, and a decolonial deconstruction of time, The Secret Project with Our Friend takes on Elsewhere and frees Our Friend across the entirety of the space and beyond the confines of the museum. When the artist came to Elsewhere they instantly connected to Our Friend who was prominently displayed in The Tower, an Indigenous person behind glass, out of context, and casually on display for all to pass by and ignore, historicize, forget, or disregard. The artist built a relationship with Our Friend, and together determine where Our Friend really wanted to be. Together they create a community found across the building, Our Friend is no longer alone, and actively engages with this institution.

The process of creation is emergent, and involves following leads. This brings us to Our Friends presence on three of Elsewhere’s seats, with three distinct messages for Natives and non-Natives alike. The chairs each read, “This was never the Gray’s, it’s eternally Indigenous,” “Islands of Decolonial Love: Conversations btwn N8VS.” Did you have a seat? Did you notice?

Our Friend is Free.

Vickie Aravindhan (Los Angeles, CA) | November 2021

This second iteration of a Yali (Hindu temple dragon) lives here as a guardian of future passages in response to Edison Peñafiel's piece, Ni Aqui, Ni Alla (neither here nor there) in this room, protecting the subjects' backs in the projection who are on a perpetual journey. As someone who is in the process of immigrating to United States as well as being a granddaughter to 4 immigrant peoples from South India and South China to Singapore, she found many of the themes she continues to explore, intersecting with Peñafiel's investigations on diaspora, forgotten histories and of subjugated knowledge as a result of colonialism. The Yali is also a commonly found cultural symbol/object often stolen or removed as artifacts and placed in a museological context with very little information on their origin stories. In this case, the Yali serves as a steward and guardian in Elsewhere's living body.

Vickie Aravindhan (Los Angeles, CA) | November 2021

The third and final iteration of the Yali mask series is situated in the attic. This Yali is the softest in build and material, and was made is response to Justin Rabidu's, Air Mail and his legacy as an artist and citizen of the world. His contribution to Elsewhere exists here in the attic where it is arguably the quietest, most contemplative site of the museum. Here, the Yali will serve as a guardian to Justin's memory as well as all future peoples who reside in the attic and after as they return/journey on.

Operation Ribbon Room (working title) serves as an act of restoration as well as transformation for a space hosting a variety of previous works in addition to Sylvia’s own interactions with the materials in the expanse. The curative effort put into this room is meant to reinvigorate the works living there as well as to better allow visitors to engage with the space as a whole. The ribbon pile suspends from the ceiling making space for furniture for some of the puppets to live on. Visitors to the space are invited to continue the transformation by tying additional ribbons to the hanging mass or untying them and rolling them up to place in the other piece. Ribbons tied up could represent hopes, dreams, wishes or goals. Ribbons rolled up serve as a physical representation of hardship left behind, allowing individuals to move forward. Overall the room is reimagined so that there are more ways to interact with the works and the building. An exploration of restoration and care for a space that has been touched by the hands of many generations, only to continue going forward.

Abigail Rothman (Jersey City, NJ) | November 2021

"Interstitial is an exploration of interstitial time and its manifestations informed by personal experience and self reflection. Participants were invited to contribute their own moments between moments, which could then be written out on handmade paper created from various materials throughout the collection (paper, wood, textile, hair, dust, sawdust, rainwater, dirt). Submissions are then folded and sealed with wax.

Elsewhere as an architectural structure becomes personified. The scars and tattoos litter the building serving as evidence of life lived in a building well loved and well hated. A history we can’t know entirely. This piece serves as an acknowledgement of the history a space holds and how it mingles with each personal history of every resident, intern, staff member and museum visitor. These physical responses then fill this metaphorical and physical void, allowing our personal experiences to mix with the history of this building, Greensboro and each other."

Vickie Aravindhan (Los Angeles, CA) | November 2021

This first iteration of the Yali (Hindu temple guardian) is made with collection wood. As it takes its shape and 'body', vitalized by the richness of Elsewhere's sociocultural history, the Yali's animacy in this case is activated by its role and duty as a guardian of the entry way to Elsewhere's living body. Yalis are mythological hybrid figures of the lion, elephant, griffin, and dragon, typically found in Hindu temple entry ways across India, South Asia and South East Asia. They are also commonly stolen as artifacts taken out of place and reinstated in museological contexts, with very little to no information of their beginnings. Considering all this, Vickie's hope is to introduce a familiar/guardian who has found its origin story here at Elsewhere to protect its peoples, histories, cultures and futures.

Oree Holban (Tel Aviv, Israel) | November 2021

"A miniature installation of a scene taking place in the 2050s: a meditative drive-in and a prom. The work would like to envision the 50s of the 21st century as times when people enjoy cultivating inner peace, thus live in better harmony with themselves and, as a result, also with one another. It is more than anything a call for a more wholesome, inclusive, non-dual, playful, and quiet world here and now - as past present future are one.

This work is part of an ongoing project/research of the artist whose work is very much inspired by nostalgic American 50s of the previous century, spiritual life in queer present time, and premonitions of the 2050s. The video piece of the non binary TV show ""The Wonderful Journey Inside"" is an example of such ongoing project, through which the artist imagines making such worlds and themes accessible also to children.

The audience is invited to participate by meditating with the other toys, watch TV (inside/outside), read a book from the library, play a record player for the toy folks at the prom, hang out, connect with the inner-child, make friends or simply stare in space without having to do anything special."

Vickie Aravindhan (Los Angeles, CA) | November 2021

This series of rattles are inspired by Yaksha/Yakshi (nature spirits of fertility and the earth) fertility rattles. Vickie's idea was to incorporate a sense of play, and community engagement by creating a series of rattles with patterns embossed using pieces of Elsewhere's bountiful toy collection. Guests were encouraged to find each rattles' corresponding toy using it as inspiration to glaze as they wished, leaving their marks and contributions to the series forever. Future guests/artists/peoples are encouraged to use these as "creativity" rattles when one feels inspiration is dry.

Lexy Ho-Tai (Queens, NYC) | November 2021

"Hope is a discipline" - Mariame KabaFeeding off the childlike wonder that Elsewhere inspires, Lexy Ho-Tai created an immersive, interactive puppet piece that serves as a playful entry point to larger conversations about safety, abolition, community care, mutual aid and world building. Weaving different messages of resistance and solidarity, Lexy invites you to imagine a more collaborative future and to consider your role within it. Using the fabric + markers provided, viewers are encouraged to leave their own messages of resistance into the piece. Culture is something we collectively create, and another world is possible! Consider donating to or getting involved with Greensboro Mutual Aid (linktr.ee/GSOMutualAid, Instagram: @gso_mutual_aid, CashApp $GSOMutualAid PayPal: GSOMutualAid@gmail.com) or your local mutual aid group.

Jordan Wason (Brooklyn, NYC) | October 2021

Installation of musical chairs, fabric, rocking horses, exercise bike, lamps, magazines, speakers, organ, piezo pickups, CRT T.V., laser etched signage; Happening series; Video ad series; Digital music recordings

The Waiting Room - 15ft x 12ft installation The Waiting Room Auditions - 9 video ad series, approx. 11min total runtime Musical Chairs - 6.5in x 4.5in laser engraved wood panel Rocking Horse - 6.7 x 4.5 laser engraved wood panel Mirror 1 (Musical Chairs) - _ x _ laser engraved mirror Mirror 2 (Rocking Horse) - _ x _ laser engraved mirror Mirror 3 (Cowboy Kid Chair) - _ x _ laser engraved mirror Mirror 4 (Twin Chairs) - _ x _ laser engraved mirror

Seeing that there was a Bureau of Illumination at Elsewhere, Jordan decided that there must also be a waiting room, as there is always waiting involved in any bureaucratic process. In a waiting room there is typically music, seating, and frustration. In this waiting room there are un-upholstered musical chairs, rolls of fabric, and instruments. The room and the objects themselves are put into a state of waiting for completion. Visitors are provided with the materials to work and create while waiting, in a process that both alleviates their frustration and saves the bureau a lot of money. Throughout the process Jordan wrote typewritten letters to the Bureau next door, which record the evolution of the room and its excavation-

Richard Moreno (Miami, FL) | October 2021

The Coffin of Curiosities was inspired by the artist's body of work. Moreno's practice explores elements of diy culture, community, and mysticism through the lenses of Metal and Punk cultures. A coffin shaped bench was found in the third floor of the museum, and transformed into a musical instrument and cabinet of sorts with installed shelves and speakers. Stairs were built to raise the bench up and allow the audience to climb up and sit on it, as well as pull pieces from the museum collection to fill the shelves and stairs. Knives and paint markers were also provided for the residents and visitors of Elsewhere to deface and carve into the piece making it their own.In this piece Richard flips the normal process of viewership, allowing the audience to be both performer and artist, creating a space for experimentation, and interaction. Absolving ownership he hopes the piece to have multiple lives and iterations.

Jasmine Best (Greensboro, NC) | October 2021

Toe Walker is an exercise in body awareness and personal appreciation. It encourages audiences to consider how they take up space in the world and how their body automatically navigates. The artist naturally walks on the balls of her feet. A trait that is hereditary but was also encouraged in girl children as benign a femme trait. Walking on your toes one is used to moving through the world quietly and minimally. This was interrupted by the very old and loud floors of Elsewhere. Jasmine decided to fight their instinct to walk on the quietest parts of the floor and actively seek out where the floor makes the most noise.

Toe Walker is made up of bright, balls of feet only, painted footprints that directly correlate to how loud the floor is where the most footprints reside. Toe Walker invites audiences to play with how much space they want to take up with their movement and how much attention they allow themselves to draw to their movement in Elsewhere.

Jasmine Best (Greensboro, NC) | October 2021

Curation Doll draws power to protect so that we do not have to be strong. The doll figure has skin made of images of flowers arranged from Elsewhere’s own fabric collection. The era of these fabrics informs the aesthetic and associations of the florals. The actual flowers collected from the collection drape the doll and, it’s resting chair, and the frames on the wall creating a protective covering. The artist’s own family would make fabric dolls and place them on chairs both as showcases of skills previously only appreciated in a domestic context but what felt to be as protectors of a domestic space. The Doll figure sits relaxed and reserved in front of an abstracted family photo wall. Pulling more power from the idea of personal black curation in reference to an essay by Bell Hooks about how home photo walls were some of the only places Black people were able to control their own image in a gallery like space.

Mahedi Anjuman (Reno, NV) | August 2021

Upon entering the museum, the sound of the bell will mentally and physically prepare the visitors to experience the museum and collections.

Seven colors of fabric columns and seven white donuts hang in seven different corners, the visitor will be touch each of them. Seven colors represent the chakra that has seven levels of intensity of meditation.

It is a collaborative project with 20 to 30 individuals from the Greensboro community. Where collaborators assisted in making 300-500 fabric balls out of the museum collection. I have collected those balls and sewn them together to create one body.

Charis Fleshner (Loveland, CO) | June 2021

Personification and anthropomorphism of inanimate objects has always been apart of how I physically and emotionally navigate the world and connect to objects. There is actually a branch of metaphysics called object-oriented ontology that studies this. During my time sewing at Elsewhere, I became irreversibly attached to a vintage, collection Pfaff sewing machine, even naming it "Jaime". This work is simply my love note to Jaime, me amore! The fabric hearts used in the installation are hidden somewhere in Elsewhere.