Featured Member: Rae Noble
NAME: Rae Noble
MEMBER SINCE: February 2018
PROFESSION/VOCATION?: Art Therapist
Q0. TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF: I love being alive. Art-making is a way of celebrating my aliveness with intention and creative joy. There is a certain resistance about joy; we carry so many heavy experiences with us each day, and tending to my art and my spirit is paramount. It is a way of processing, of holding my life, of unknowing and relearning. These days, making art may look like writing, preparing a colorful meal, drawing, painting, dancing with my son.
Q1. YOU x YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO PS1: Manymanymany moons ago, I was a wee little undergraduate student here at Iowa. I met PS1 in the early 2000s, while participating in a local volunteer project. I remember a lot of beautiful programming even back then, when it was pretty new and it caught my attention. In 2017, we relocated back to Iowa City and discovered, to my great delight, that PS1 not only still existed but was THRIVING! My partner Ryan got plugged in quickly, and I've followed suit!
Q2. THE FIRST IMPRESSION: PS1 is a total babe, kind and soulful and intentional in all the right ways.
Q3. THE BEST (AND WORST!?): My top PS1 art-experience favorites are a 4-way tie: (1) the Give and Take show, curated by Heidi Casto and celebrating Mother Artists; (2) American Artist's residency and show earlier this year, and his work on the racism of tech spaces, with whiteness as equivalent to "infinite potential;" (3) the full-room installation by Alea Adigweme: the Roslyn Forbes-Adigweme Memorial Library, in honor of her mother; and (4) the full transformation of PS1 into a creeeeeepy underworld around Halloween last Fall (Spooky House by Team Kelly + Will)... that was so much fun. I think there were living Mermen who sat behind a green oceany plexiglass panel in shifts- it was brilliant. (I don't have a worst!!!!)
Q4. WHY THE LOVE!?!? This organization has such heart and clarity; I would argue that this is one of the most important non-profits in the Midwest. The programming is necessary, well-researched, designed to include and highlight work being made in every creative realm and by every kind of artist/humxn. And the variety of opportunities for people to get involved (for little to no cost) makes PS1 far more accessible than many of the art orgs I've encountered elsewhere.
Q5. PS1 x FUTURE: I look forward to PS1 being 25, 50, 100 years old. Publishing a massive retrospective book. Continuing the brilliant work already well underway, and gaining momentum along with widespread renown + funding. Thank you for all that you do!!