Tradition Interrupted features artist Ramekon O’Arwisters who is a Bay Area-based social practice artist who founded Crochet Jam in 2012. This ongoing community art project is based on his life-long connection to the African American tradition of weaving in inclusive, friendly environments without rules or restrictions. During Crochet Jams, participants engage in the folk-art tradition of rag weaving while fostering a culture of cooperation. This art workshop is perfect for all-ages and no experience is necessary. Come learn to crochet shoulder-to-shoulder with the artist and take your creation home. Light refreshments and a cash bar will be available. 

About the Artist:
O’Arwisters series featured in Tradition Interruption, titled Mending, and is comprised of broken pieces of ceramics tangled up in vibrantly colored crocheted fabric. The repurposed shards found in the sculptures come from everyday household objects and decorative pottery. For O’Arwisters, the folk-art tradition of weaving fabric harkens back to his childhood in North Carolina, which was filled with memories of quilting with his grandmother. As a queer, black child growing up in the 1960s Jim Crow South, the security and love he felt when engaged in this folk-art family pastime was of critical importance. Born in Kernersville, North Carolina, O’Arwisters earned a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from Duke University Divinity School in 1986. He was an artist-inresidence at de Young Museum, Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Recology and Vermont Studio Center. Grants and Awards include Artadia: The Fund for Art and Dialogue, NY San Francisco Foundation, and San Francisco Arts Commission Cultural Equity Program. He also received the 2014 Eureka Fellow, awarded by the Fleishhacker Foundation, San Francisco. His work has been featured in: LA Times, San Francisco Chronicle, 7×7 Magazine, Artnet, and San Francisco Examiner. O’Arwisters is represented by Patricia Sweetow Gallery, San Francisco, CA.