One World - Many Papers Project

Jane Ingram Allen, an American artist now living in Taiwan, is collaborating with 42 artists from 39 different countries around the world to create a site-specific mixed media artwork composed of unique sheets of handmade paper art made by artists from different countries using local materials. Each collaborating artist will make a piece of paper (A4 or letter size) from a plant fiber in their own country and create a piece of handmade paper art to represent their country.

The individual handmade paper artworks will be sent to Jane, and she will use them to make an installation artwork, creating a map of the earth showing no borders and emphasizing that the planet is one whole made up of many different unique parts. Paper is a material that unites the world since it is used in every continent and has a long history throughout the world. The literal and symbolic joining together of these unique handmade paper artworks representing many different countries of the world will vividly show that the earth is one, made up of many joined together. The project not only emphasizes the unique contribution of each, but also the importance of working together.

The finished work will be approximately 8 feet x 5 feet, and it will be a two-sided suspended installation to hang in space and be visible from both sides. The work can be installed in a variety of ways to fit any space. Biographical information and documentation about each artist’s creative process is also included with the display of the artwork.

“One World – Many Papers” will first be installed in Boston, MA, April 3-May 15, 2009, in conjunction with the TransCultural Exchange Conference on International Opportunities in the Arts.(www.transculturalexchange.org). Exhibitions in other countries are being arranged. At the conclusion of the exhibitions in 2010 the artwork will be donated to a non-profit organization. The project will be documented in a catalog published by Trans-Cultural Exchange and on this Blog.