Parsons & Charlesworth: Multispecies Inc.
June 10th- July 15th
2pm to 6pm
Multispecies Inc. is a fictional organization through which artists and designers Parsons & Charlesworth explore multispecies future imaginaries. Conceived as a group of ecologists creating and using tools for “multispecies living”, Parsons & Charlesworth manifest the objects and stories of Multispecies Inc. to examine and critique our desire to both convene with, and control “nature”.
Multispecies Inc. Research Station at Compound Yellow
From June 10th to July 15th, Compound Yellow will operate as a drop-in research station for Multispecies Inc. - Parsons & Charlesworth’s ongoing visual arts climate fiction about a group of ecologists modeling non-human-centric living.
Audience members are invited to dive into the world of Multispecies Inc. through a set of stories, view artifacts and diagrams that illustrate the group’s work and participate in citizen science activities that model the work of Multispecies Inc. members.
Parsons & Charlesworth is an art and design studio that develops tangible worlds as discursive tools for critically appraising urgent issues. Co-founded by Jessica Charlesworth and Tim Parsons, the studio’s investigative, research-driven, speculative approach uses installation, sculpture, designed objects, writing, photography and digital media to explore key social, ecological and technological challenges of our time, including climate change, the future of work, and the ethics of technology. Currently NEW INC Members on the Creative Science Track.
Parsons & Charlesworth have exhibited in galleries, museums, institutions, and festivals around the world including 17th International Architecture Exhibition- La Biennale di Venezia, Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), Philadelphia Museum of Art, Museu de Arte, Arquitetura e Tecnologia (MAAT Lisbon), Science Gallery Dublin, Istanbul Design Biennial, the Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago), London Design Festival and the Chicago Cultural Center.
Recent honors, grants, and awards for their work include a 2022 Canada Council for the Arts Grant, a 2021 Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts Grant, support from the British Council, a 2020 Mitchell Enhancement Award from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a 2019 Canada Council for the Arts Grant. The 2019 Artist-In-Residence at Krems, Austria, the 2016 Residency at Kriti Gallery, Varanasi, India, a 2014 Residency at Roger Brown House, New Buffalo, Michigan, a 2013 Residency at Home Is Where The Art Is, Charleston, South Carolina and the 2010 First Prize Winner for Project Vienna, MAKVienna, Austria. Their work is featured in various private collections and in the permanent collection at the MAKVienna and DePaul Art Museum.
Jessica and Tim both teach at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
BIO
Jessica Charlesworth is a British/Canadian transdisciplinary artist, designer and educator. Jessica is an alumni of the experimental and groundbreaking Design interactions program at the Royal College of Art in London and co-founder of the London-based arts salon AlterFutures. She has collaborated with artists, futurists, scientists, and think tanks including Foresight (UK) and the Institute for the Future (US). Jessica has been a part-time faculty member in the Designed Objects program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago since 2013 where she runs design futures studio seminar classes ‘Ways of Futuring’ and ‘Material Futures’. Her teaching experience of over 15 years has included creating new futures-oriented classes, teaching, lecturing, mentoring graduate students and independently organised workshops at universities and education institutions including Harvard Business School, University of Pennsylvania, California College of the Arts, University of Michigan, ArtCenter College of Design, Glasgow School of Art, Royal College of Art, Bath School of Art & Design, St. Joost School of Art & Design, Netherlands and Moholy Nagy University, Budapest.
Tim Parsons is a designer, author, and educator having studied Industrial design before earning a Master of the Arts Degree in Design Products at London’s Royal College of Art in 2000. He has gone on to teach product design at universities in Britain and America. Tim previously taught at the University of the Arts London and Manchester Metropolitan University. As a designer, he has worked with manufacturers in Britain and Europe and exhibited widely, including at The Design Museum, London, and MCA, Chicago. As a writer, Tim has contributed articles and essays to publications including Blueprint, ICON, Crafts, and Phaidon’s Design Classics, and his book Thinking: Objects: Contemporary Approaches to Product Design was published in 2009 by AVA Academia. He is also the writer and instructor of the online course Making Meaning: An Introduction to Designing Objects.