The Living Thread by Summer Dean & Laiyonelth Hurtado is now viewable by appointment at Queens Council on the Arts in Long Island City, New York.

Click here to get in touch about viewing the “Imagining Climate Futures” group show, of which The Living Thread is a part.

This installation is best viewed in-person, but for all the updates on how this dynamic work is living and growing the more it is used as a gathering space for community, follow Summer, Laiyonelth, & Climate Futures Studio on socials!

The Living Thread is a multi-sensory dome in which visitors are invited to explore the role that fashion will play in healing our relationship with the planet in 2075. In this piece, artists Laiyonelth Hurtado and Summer Dean envision the fashion industry of 2075 as a living organism that actively heals the land, nurtures ecosystems, brings people together and empowers individuals to become active creators, not just consumers.

The seven-level design of the dome’s exterior references the Seventh Generation Principle— an Indigenous Haudenosaunee philosophy dating back to 1142 AD— which states that the decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future, as a way to honor the land and wisdom from the communities where this piece is being conceived. From the ground up, each level of the dome is intentional— representing our collective relationship with mother earth, from our foundations, to past, present, and future. As each level progresses towards the top, the viewer will begin to notice the advancement of sustainable materials that reference sustainable traditions from the past; including moss, hemp, and linen, upcycled textile waste from the fast fashion industry, and current fabric innovations like algae biotextiles and coffee leather. As the viewer enters the dome, they are immersed in a multi-sensory experience with audio meditations, speculative storytelling, and hands-on interactive activities exploring how the fashion industry was able to reach ecological balance by 2075.

Through an intersectional and afrofuturistic lens, the installation presents an optimistic outlook of the future, where people simultaneously celebrate moments of shared human victory and remember and acknowledge the mistakes from the past to work actively to prevent injustice. The living thread envisions a fashion industry that understands and embraces the political character of fashion and helps shape a world where everyone thrives and lives in abundance.