Kelsey Merreck Wagner

Kelsey Merreck Wagner (b. 1990) is a fiber artist, educator, curator, and anthropologist. She defines herself as an eco-artivist (art + activism). She completed her B.A. (Studio Arts; focus: printmaking) at Western Michigan University, her M.A. (Appalachian Studies; focus: sustainability & community-engaged arts) at Appalachian State University, and received her Ph.D. at Michigan State University (Anthropology; focus: environmental activism and art in Thailand). Her unique artwork has spanned printmaking to ceramics to book-making to textiles. Since 2019, her current body of work comprises small and large-scale weavings made entirely from plastic and other recycled materials, which she collects from her household, community, and trash clean-ups. Her work has been exhibited in art galleries, museums, and institutions: internationally in Cambodia, Thailand, Canada, Malaysia, Slovakia, and Italy; as well as across the United States.