Prize Recognizes Artist’s Work on Climate Change
A New York City textile artist, Mary Jaeger, won the “Honoring the Future® Sustainability Award” at Wednesday’s opening of the prestigious 2019 Smithsonian Craft Show in Washington, DC. The national award, which carries a $1,000 prize, recognizes an artist whose work educates the public about, or inspires or models a sustainable response to, climate change.
The winning artist breathes new life into textile fragments and used garments that would otherwise be discarded. She transforms stained, worn-out men’s cotton tailored shirts, deconstructing, dyeing and stitching them into elegant, one-of-a-kind, non-gender specific shirts and jackets. She pleats silk fabric scraps using intricate origami folds, creating shawls with sculptural qualities. Her work melds ancient Eastern and contemporary Western design through inspired use of color, texture and pattern – and a commitment to reduce the volume of waste headed to domestic and third world landfills.
Mary Jaeger, Pleated silk duster. ©2019 maryjaeger.com. Photo courtesy of the artist.
“I repurpose materials and garments to personalize them and give them new and extended lives,” explains the artist. “I strive to help make our world more enjoyable by preserving and offering the art of one-of-a-kind, limited edition, and environmentally conscious handmade clothing and interior textile objects.”
Mary Jaeger, Shirt/jacket. Fashioned from a repurposed man’s tailored shirt. ©2019 maryjaeger.com. Photo courtesy of the artist.
“This award showcases art that captures our attention and makes us think – about why we need action on climate change and how we can achieve it,” observes Fran Dubrowski, Director of Honoring the Future. “Jaeger’s inventiveness invites us to reconsider what we value and what we waste,” Dubrowski adds.
Mary Jaeger, Pleated silk dress. ©2019 maryjaeger.com. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Twenty-one artists from 15 states applied for the award. Lloyd Herman, founding director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery, judged the entries.
The award continues a tradition begun in 2015 to honor pioneering craft artists who point the way to a more sustainable future. Honoring the Future offers the award in partnership with the Smithsonian Women’s Committee, a volunteer grant making organization dedicated to advancing the Smithsonian’s mission to increase and diffuse knowledge. The Smithsonian Women’s Committee produces the Smithsonian Craft Show to generate funds for grants to support education, outreach and research at the Smithsonian’s 19 museums and galleries, nine research facilities, 20 libraries, and the National Zoo.
