Lauren Farkas Crafts Wood, Wire, and Kudzu Maps for Knoxville's First Friday Art Crawl
Lauren Farkas, an artist from Knoxville, designs monthly maps for First Friday art events using materials such as wood, wire, and sneakers. For the past three years, she has been a high school art teacher at L&N STEM Academy and initiated this project with a colored-pencil map for her own navigation. Her maps, which are recognized as art pieces, incorporate diverse materials like watercolor, digital animation, and charred wood. Among her notable works are a map featuring streets burned into sneakers and a CNC-routed MDF tilt maze. Available through her Substack, knoxvilleartmaps.substack.com, these maps facilitate navigation of exhibitions and encourage broader engagement in art spaces. Kelsie Conley from KMA commends them for enriching the viewer's experience, while Josh Shorey emphasizes their importance in introducing First Friday to newcomers.
Key facts
- Lauren Farkas creates monthly maps for Knoxville's First Friday art openings.
- Farkas is a high school art teacher at L&N STEM Academy and has lived in Knoxville for nine years.
- The maps began three years ago when Farkas sketched a colored-pencil map for herself.
- Materials used include watercolor, tape, digital animation, paper mulberry pulp, goldenrod, black walnut ink, acorns, charred wood, and scavenged coaxial cable.
- One map transformed white sneakers into a walking guide with streets and gallery locations burned into the soles.
- Farkas collaborates with other artists, including Kyle Cottier and Daniel Clay.
- Kelsie Conley, assistant curator at the Knoxville Museum of Art, praises the maps for changing how people experience the city.
- Artist Josh Shorey describes First Friday as a tradition and distributed network.
- Farkas distributes her maps via her Substack, knoxvilleartmaps.substack.com.
Entities
Artists
- Lauren Farkas
- Kyle Cottier
- Daniel Clay
- Josh Shorey
- Kelsie Conley
Institutions
- L&N STEM Academy
- Knoxville Museum of Art
- University of Tennessee School of Art
- Hyperallergic
Locations
- Knoxville
- Tennessee
- United States