The Exchange Lab

Artist in Residence at Brickscape, 11th floor of the Union building, Charleston, West Virginia. May 2018!

The Exchange Lab in Charleston has become a place where stories can be freely shared and heard, a space where new and meaningful experiences can occur, and fresh ideas cultivated. The Lab has been a home to guided meetings, social gatherings, and significant conversations. Guests are often asked to bring something with them to start the conversation - an idea, a memory, and sometimes a personal item that represents a time when they felt strong. My role in The Lab is to be a conduit, a facilitator and a medium to help cultivate conversations among strangers and friends.

 

In many ways, the ideas of the Exchange Lab extend beyond the walls of the Union building into the community. As a native West Virginian with a strong heart for Appalachia, I am interested in knowing what keeps this community strong, how neighborhoods have changed, where have folks have felt a strong sense of belonging, how they are choosing to invest, what scares them about the future, and what brings them hope. The Exchange Lab is an archive of these events and conversations.

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