Waste Not, Want Not: Artist Talk with Michelle Lougee, Samantha Fields, and Charlotte Milan

Hear from two of the Boston area’s most thought provoking practitioners — Michelle Lougee and Samantha Fields — joined by Charlotte Milan, Recycling Coordinator for the Town of Arlington.

While serving as ArtsArlington’s 2020 Artist-in-Residence, Michelle Lougee led hundreds of volunteers in transforming thousands of plastic bags into sculpture warning of the deadly effects of plastic in the world’s oceans. Entitled Persistence, the installation is on view on the Minuteman Bikeway through October. Lougee’s exhibition of recent work incorporating discarded plastic packaging is on view at the Boston Sculptors Gallery through March 28.

In 2019, Now+There Accelerator Artist Samantha Fields created Desires Not Even Our Own, a storefront where she and her team meticulously disassembled one ton of used clothing. Fields created a welcoming space with lush plants, recycled furniture, antique sewing machines, and bold infographics to tackle issues of fast fashion and the devastating environmental impact of the textile industry at home and abroad.

Charlotte Milan will bring a policy perspective to the discussion and speak about the innovative ways Arlington is working to reduce waste. This event is co-sponsored by the Arlington Commission for Arts and Culture, the Public Arlington Library – which hosted Michelle Lougee’s residency at the Fox Branch – Sustainable Arlington, Zero Waste Arlington and the Boston Sculptors Gallery, and is moderated by Cecily Miller, Public Art Curator for the Arlington Commission for Art and Culture.