Moments of crisis make possible new forms of expression, including cultural initiatives, social cooperatives, and political movements informed by diverse concepts of recycling and sustainability. “Recycling” engulfs more than reusing materials; it also means re-appropriating and repurposing ideas, resources, and forms of cultural production to new ends. For instance, the Cartonera publishing group
s of Buenos Aires; Milan’s “Piano City;” Casablanca’s Abbatoirs; the repurposed pieces of tire, plastic, and metal that enclose and adorn André Eugène’s mother and child in Ayiti Pap Peri; and Miami’s Wynwood Arts District all emerge from radically distinct situations of local crisis, and yet, they share sustainable and communal approaches to understanding and addressing social, political, and economic quandaries that are shared across the globe.
