Field Guide to a Crisis

with Justin Maxon

Sunday, April 9 at 10am Pacific, Online

The Project: People dealing with substance abuse typically hold the lowest value in our society. We never turn to them for guidance. Field Guide to a Crisis (FG) challenges us to re-think the voices that are elevated in times of crisis. FG is a socially engaged art project that prepares people in recovery, living in sober homes in Eureka, CA to be educators in resiliency. Where they get the opportunity to present their skills through lesson plans, instructional videos, and public presentations. Presenting to a public audience gives participants the opportunity to be seen as experts in navigating crises. Value and purpose are an essential component for individuals in the recovery process.

The Workshop: FG will organize a skill sharing online presentation. Where new participants Sabrina Miller, Brianna Nazarijchuk, and Elexa Poropudas will share stories, archival family photographs, and descriptive context to demonstrate how a chosen skill materializes in their life. At the end of our time, Elexa will do a short monologue performance, giving the audience an opportunity to experience her skill in real time. We have given three public presentations: our most recent was online at the Center for Photographic Art.  Michelle M. Miller led a walking performance based on her skill, Random Acts of Kindness. We choreographed four blocks in Eureka and found multiple locations that needed care: such as a broken gate, overgrown weeds, and a dirty public building. Michelle led us through the act of caring for those environments and told stories along the way.

The Process: Photography is the backbone for the project because it fits the accessibility needs of the community and streamlines the project's goals. The project begins with each participant being led through a series of exercises to identify their own accumulated skills. Then they select the one skill they want included in the guide and create a photographic reenactment to illustrate it. As the project evolves and they dive deeper into their skills, most of the documentation evidence is photographic. In this case, photography represents an essential tool for participants to translate their skill in real time; because it's accessible; it’s easy for them to imagine themselves in a photograph.

This is a FREE event. Registration is required to reserve your spot and receive event reminders.

About Justin Maxon

Justin Maxon is a socially engaged artist. He is a Faculty member in the Art Department at Cal Poly Humboldt. He collaborates with communities that are connected to his own positionality, making design and ideation decisions with participants. He has received numerous awards for his work, which includes the Aaron Siskind Foundation Fellowship, CENTER Project Development Grant, and the Alexia Foundation for World Peace Professional Grant.

His work has been exhibited widely: the Museum of Chinese in America; the Museum de Arte Acarigua-Araure in Venezuela, the Bermuda National Gallery, the Lodz Fotofestiwal in Poland, and the Singapore International Photography Festival.

Discover Justin’s work on Instagram: @justinmeadmaxon

Location and Event Info

This event takes place virtually on Zoom, with individual participation in your ccommunity. Link and event info will be sent to registered participants.

Access is free and open to the public.