Project Background
In April 2017, we submitted our anti-wall, non-wall designs to bid on The Other Border Wall Prototypes through Phase One of the Customs and Border Protection's Request for Qualifications. Our ideas went viral and included a wall of hammocks, lighthouses, and pipe organs for an imagined border of safety, humanitarian relief, and creativity. In January 2018, we announced Phase Two
. This includes the Request for Designs for the Other Border Wall; a group exhibition and partnership with Flatland Gallery in Houston, TX with public designs and artworks; a growing archive of voices and visions on this website; connecting with new allies and partners along the border and elsewhere; presenting the work at the College Art Association conference in LA; and site visits to the eight government-funded prototypes. We are independent artists and designers based in Pittsburgh, known collectively as JM Design Studio, working in opposition to Trump's Wall and the xenophobia of his administration. We are an all-woman team of three, Tereneh Idia, Leah Patgorski, and Jennifer Meridian, who formed in the early months of the Trump administration. Tereneh Idia is an internationally based fashion designer and founder of Idia'Dega, a global eco-design collaboration with OMWA: Olorgesailie Maasai Women Artisans of Kenya and The Beading Wolves, an Oneida family of artisans. Leah Patgorski is an artist and designer working with sculpture and site-specific textile installations. Jennifer Meridian is a visual artist working with drawing, sculpture, and performance. We have benefited from the research and planning assistance of Selina Lee, a student at Carnegie Mellon University. In addition, we recently partnered with David Janesko, an artist and the curator/director of Flatland Gallery in Houston. We are grateful for support from The Opportunity Fund, through our fiscal sponsor Pittsburgh Filmmakers, to help support the current phase of our project.
