The Emergency Was Curiosity: Christie George

Mesa Refuge alum Christie George will be exhibiting her project The Emergency Was Curiosity at the Point Reyes Public Library February 1 – 29.

The Emergency Was Curiosity is an illustrated book report, exhibition, and series of events inspired by Jenny Odell’s 2019 book How To Do Nothing.

The book report was originally developed as a creative response to Jenny Odell’s book: a means of remixing its ideas through hand-drawn illustrations, collages, watercolors and personal essays about the ways these ideas became more relevant during the pandemic. The project expanded to chronicle Christie’s move out of Oakland to West Sonoma County, highlighting the quirks and glories of rural living and sharing her own experiments in cultivating creative attention. Ultimately, the project illuminates how practices of attention might help us know ourselves and each other better.

The exhibition features selections from the book report and a series of activities and exercises to help visitors experiment with cultivating their own creative attention.

Join Mesa Refuge for the opening reception at the Point Reyes Library on Thursday, February 1, 6:00 – 8:00 pm.

Christie George is an investor, writer and producer who has been working at the intersection of media, politics and technology for more than 20 years. She started her career at Women Make Movies, and she is the former president of New Media Ventures. Christie currently advises foundations on media and narrative change strategy. Past creative projects have included a series of zine-making workshops to help people process their pandemic experiences, and a crowdfunded billboard campaign against Islamophobia in San Francisco. Christie’s writing has appeared in Stanford Social Innovation Review, and her work has been profiled by the Wall Street Journal, Politico and CNN. She also produced the award-winning PBS documentary Hunting in Wartime.