Doing Too Much? Take a Break With Us
Do you feel too busy?
It’s an unusually busy fall at Kera Collective. With postponed projects restarting and intersecting with newer ones already in full swing, it’s been tough to find a moment to just…breathe. Gratitude and connection are helping us through these frenzied times. We’re thankful for the amazing opportunities that have come our way and know we’re likely not the only ones experiencing some overwhelm as the seasons change. So, deep breaths everyone—we’re in this together!
October Coffee Break Picks
STEPHANIE’S PICK
Do Less!
"In his podcast, Hidden Brain, host Shankar Vedantam uses curiosity, humility, and always a dose of humor to explore ‘life’s unseen patterns.’ In this episode, Shankar speaks with engineer Leidy Klotz (author of the book, Subtract) about the concept of ‘doing less.’ The podcast is not about museums, but I have no doubt you will find connections between your work and this topic (the first minute should resonate strongly)! I discovered a while ago that creativity and problem solving are strongest when faced with constraints. Doing less forces you to prioritize what is most important and find radical clarity."
LINA’S PICK
Indigenous Perspectives in Land Art Work
"Michael Heizer’s land art work is known for utilizing a different way of viewing and interacting with art. Oftentimes though, the ideas of place and locality, central to Indigenous thinking, are left ignored when understanding land artists. This article by Jasmine Liu, published in Hyperallergic, incorporates Indigenous perspectives on land artists like Heizer. The idea of incorporating exoticism and mythological elements into land art is challenged in this piece — Indigenous perspectives are prioritized here. As Indigenous Peoples’ Day comes up, I find it necessary to engage with and to actively read Indigenous voices and perspectives."
EMILY’S PICK
The Evolution of American Sign Language
"The New York Times recently published an article, The Evolution of American Sign Language, which I found incredibly fascinating because my youngest daughter is taking sign language classes with a teacher at school who is a CODA (child of deaf adults). The article actually links to Merriam-Webster’s website where they highlight new words that have been added to the dictionary each month (370 in September!). A big part of our work is asking questions and interpreting responses, but how much is being ‘lost in translation?’ Humans have so many interesting biases in the way they process and communicate information!"
What’s New At Kera
We’re excited to announce that we are working with Revolutionary City. Revolutionary City is a collaborative effort of five Philadelphia institutions. We will help them envision programming around the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. Stay tuned for updates in the coming months!
This month in our Learning Hub, Cathy shares how we unobtrusively observe visitors in museum exhibitions, and Claire challenges museums to go beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act (the ADA) in creating disability-friendly museums.
We’ll be attending a few conferences this month! Ebony will be presenting findings from a study we did with the American Women’s History Initiative at the Smithsonian Institution exploring educators’ perspectives and experiences teaching women’s history, as well as attending the American Folklore Society conference. Cathy will be attending the EPIC conference on ethnography in business. Say hi if you see us!
Moment of Wonder
Anna-Laura Sullivan is an artist who has the cutest art that always brings a smile to my face. This is my favorite piece by her. It reminds me to slow down and let go of the heaviness. Her Instagram is @annalaura_art, and her site is here!
—Claire
