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Follow the String is an exhibition developed in partnership with Cedars and NIAD Art Center, two Bay Area based progressive studio programs for adults with developmental disabilities. 

Curated by NIAD’s Emma Spertus and Julio Rodriguez with NIAD artists Felicia Griffin, Dorian Reid, and Kiesha White, the exhibition features artists from Cedars and NIAD, alongside artists from the broader Bay Area arts community. Follow the String showcases conventionally trained artists alongside artists with disabilities, blurring distinctions between "insider" and "outsider" art. A workshop will bring together participating artists to create a new fiber-based work for the exhibition.

The material of thread is a simple and powerful metaphor for connectivity. As individuals we are strands; as communities we are intertwined. These concepts draw from the rich history of Northern California utopian design and craftwork centered in Marin County and the Bay Area in the 1960’s and 70’s. Follow the String will trace a lineage from these countercultural dreamers to contemporary practitioners who continue to deploy craft and handwork as a means to achieve a more democratic and inclusive world. 

Public programs will be designed around the model of inclusive and collaborative craft and handwork forums to create opportunities for dialogue, discussion, and problem-solving through collective action. An artist-led workshop by master weavers from Cedars will demonstrate their working techniques and artistic process.