THE ART OF CREATIVE REUSE
Trash to Treasure Art Challenge is a community art project and an invitation to consider the capacity for reuse of common items that are discarded, and how we can make more sustainable art by redefining our relationship to what we consider art materials and supplies.
The goal of Trash to Treasure is to encourage community members to use art to engage in public discourse, specifically exploring the intersection of individual self-expression, community identity, and environmental justice.
The Trash to Treasure Art Challenge is sponsored by artist Sarah Marris-Swann, founder of Utica Creative Reuse, and made possible through the CNY Arts Grants for Regional Arts and Cultural Engagement regrant program thanks to a New York State Senate Initiative supported by the NYS Legislature, the Office of the Governor and administered by the New York State Council on the Art. With thanks to our fiscal sponsor, Mohawk Valley Economic Development District, Inc.
About Sarah
Sarah Marris-Swann is an artist from Utica, New York. She spent the last decade working as a nurse in community and mental health, living in Utica, Kolkata, Seattle, and then returning to Utica again during the COVID-19 pandemic. She began painting in her free time as a way of processing her personal and professional experiences, and in 2023, she left the nursing profession to pursue art, community engagement, and the formation of a creative reuse center in Utica.
Trash to Treasure 