Ms. Rachel Breen is interested in the creative possibilities of the sewing machine, which she uses to draw, create installations, and initiate socially engaged public projects. She is a “maker,” yet much of her work involves the opposite: “unmaking” things and “dismantling” ways of seeing and believing. She is interested in the sewing machine as a deeply symbolic and (im)practical object. She uses the revolving needle of her sewing machine to both draw and reimagine connections between people.

For the last eight years her work has examined the labor rights of garment workers, as a catalyst for social change. Her research in India will build on this work by focusing on learning about artists who work with used materials in their practice, and through researching ways that fair-trade models support artists and craftspeople in India.

Ms. Breen’s work has been shown widely, both in Minnesota and across the country. Her solo exhibition at the Perlman Museum at Carleton College, “The Price of Our Clothes,” was included in the top 20 U.S. exhibitions of 2018 by Hyperallergic. Ms. Breen has been awarded artist residencies at MacDowell and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. She is an inaugural recipient of the Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship, and has received four Minnesota State Arts Board grants and a fellowship from the Walker Art Center Open Field. Ms. Breen’s social engagement projects have been presented across the state, including two projects commissioned for Northern Spark, a public art festival addressing climate change in Minnesota. Ms. Breen holds an MFA from the University of Minnesota and a BA from The Evergreen State College. She lives in Minneapolis, MN, maintains an active studio practice, and is a professor of art at Anoka Ramsey Community College.

Multiple fair-trade initiatives support artisans in India working with textile crafts, give women a say in their workplaces, and provide greater control over their daily lives. Ms. Breen is researching and learning about alternative supply chains that are economically viable as well as ecologically and culturally sustainable. She is working with artists who incorporate used materials into their work, focusing on textile artists, and is studying how these artists are supported in making their work with the help of fair trade initiatives.