Inspiring purposeful introspection and conscious reinvention.

How we shape and define growth is abstract, its meaning determined by varied human motivation and personality. One definition of growth can be recognized as a continuous, linear concept focused on governing principles and processes related to attached consumption and heedless waste. A thoughtful reconsideration of this definition finds that progress and betterment is not always forward nor is it disposable.

What matters is not the physical, finite limitations of our planet, but the freedom and creativity to connect and reimagine the use of its resources. There is no waste in nature. The energy  created is constantly in motion, circulated through a system of decay and rejuvenation, destruction, and creation. When we look at our lives, we can see how humans also exist in a similar system of rebirth. On the individual scale, the self is an ever-changing, revolving door of growth, that ebbs and flows with the experiences of life. By reconceptualizing a working definition of growth into a cyclical idea, we are able to hold a conscious, focused, and sustained engagement with the ideas and objects that shape our lives.

To Re•Purpose an idea, form, object, space, or self is a contemplative call to growth and creativity, involving not only the study of past purpose and the systems of knowledge which collaborated to produce it, but generates an exploration of new and innovative ways to consider aesthetic, instinctive, scientific, economic, and philosophical ideas and practices. Re•Purpose is ultimately an examination of human ingenuity, as the means and methods of circular growth unattached inspires purposeful introspection and conscious reinvention.

The Re•Purpose season will feature works by local and internationally recognized artists who incorporate recycled or otherwise reinvented materials. From plastic bottles to keyboards, these artists have been inspired by the idea of revitalization, industrialization, and the meaning we place on items––both in art and in our everyday lives. Re•Purpose will explore how the lives of individuals and communities can be re•purposed by showcasing and collaborating with partners who are striving to make Omaha a more unified and sustainable city.

“Repurpose” is defined as to use something for a different purpose to the one for which it was originally intended. A single container could be repurposed as many as 30 times.

Artists
Jamie Burmeister
Bart Vargas
Ted Larsen
Tony Berlant
Ken Little
Chakaia Booker
Sean Suiter

Collaborators
The Big Garden of Omaha
Opera Omaha
Looptworks
PRESERVE
Girlfriend Collective
FirStar Fiber
Verdis Group
Omaha Permaculture