Ramekon O’Arwisters is a fabric and social practice artist who likes to say he has “no reverence for systems of control.” He is best known for creating a series of public art events called crochet jams, where he makes a space for people to create a communal work of art.
Ramekon came to KALW’s studios to talk with Jen Chien about how his grandmother’s quiltmaking, his years as a closeted teen in the South, and how his time at divinity school helped him develop his own ideas on what art can be and do.
"Crochet jam is really ... about stuff that I need in a society that either will or will not provide it. I let go of that. I'll provide it. I'll do it."
Ramekon O’Arwisters' current show, Mending, is at the Patricia Sweetow Gallery in San Francisco. The next crochet jam will be there on February 10.
