March 25 - April 8 2011
Maria Molteni MOLTENi NET WORKS

closing reception: Sunday April 3 from 6-10pm.

GALLERY HOURS and WORKSHOP INFO: 
From March 25-April 3rd, "gallery hours" at MEME will simultaneously be "open studio hours". During these times visitors are welcome to check out the show, hang out to work on collaborative nets/their own pieces, or initiate impromptu instruction with fellow visitors. Organized workshops will also be scheduled over two of these days. Times and dates will be posted soon @molteninetworks.tumblr.com/events. Local artists Andrea Evans, Taylor McVay, Susan Tornheim, and Kendra Biddle will be hosting presentations on their own art practices as well as instruction for various methods of knit and crochet. Workshops will be free and open to the public. While we aim to provide supplies, donations of yarn, knitting needles, crochet hooks, and cold-hard-cash will be accepted as forms of exchange. MEN are encouraged to participate! And anyone who would like to provide instruction for any relevant skills may e-mail Maria: molteninetworks@gmail.com 

CLOSING RECEPTION AND SCRIMMAGE: 
The closing reception of this exhibition will take place Sunday April 3 from 6-10pm. Here visitors may view my own sculptures and what other progress has come from studio hours and workshops. When weather allows, a scrimmage to test out the new nets will be scheduled on MEME's neighborhood basketball courts.

MOLTENi NET WORKS function simply. Participants will hand-crochet basketball nets to be installed on hoops where such are missing or damaged. I've created a google map to keep track of spaces where nets have been installed or have yet to be. Interested contributers may follow the progress of the project, reporting sightings and requests for nets in their own neighborhoods. Efforts have begun locally, with hoops near my own Allston, MA apartment, but have contributed to additional projects such as artist Kevin Clancy's "Portable Utopia" in Johannesburg. I hope to engage other creative enthusiasts collaborating via stitch-and-bitch-style skill shares to fabricate nets and exchange new design ideas.  

Familiar with the many ways nets benefit the game, both functionally and beyond, this project is inspired by my own basketball experience and the love for sinking a "nothin' but net". As an artist I am interested in a mapping process that creates a network between communities and utilizes abandoned space as a venue. I'm also motivated by a DIY form of slow production that will restore dignity to such preloved neighborhood totems. I hope that installing a functional while quality, hand-crafted product on an industrial rim will foster creativity, encourage the questioning of standard measurement or design, and create a bond of trust between artists, athletes, and neighbors.  

For more information including documentary media, instructions for participation, and updates of scheduled events and workshops, please visit: molteninetworks.tumblr.com, e-mail: molteninetworks@gmail.com, or visit the interactive map: MOLTENi NET WORKS