“You can’t outsource community. You have to build it.” A conversation with the multidisciplinary designer on creating community through networks of resilience. 

I’m very excited to introduce you to my next guest, Christa Clark. She is a multidisciplinary designer with a background in UX (user experience) who stepped away from the corporate sphere to focus on issues that affect her immediate community—from food scarcity and mutual aid to textile recycling and circular economies. Christa is currently been working on several projects, including Material Union, an in-development a textile recycling facility and community resource center that has the potential to create a replicable model for use across the USA where textile recycling infrastructure is sorely lacking (currently 85% of all textiles end up in landfills).

Christa reminds us that when the macro feels as dire as it does right now, one of the most liberating things that we can do is to dig deeper into our local communities, forming networks of resilience and mutual aid—something that is rooted in dignity and community, not charity or systems that uphold disparity.

My hope with today’s conversation is that everyone can walk away with a bit of hope, license to act, and curiosity. And perhaps a few ways to reframe regular day-to-day decisions—changing the dial just ever so slightly to bring in more empowerment, optimism, collaboration, and engagement with our local communities.

Please visit the Creativity in the Time of Capitalism Substack to learn more and for episode resources. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

Christa Clark

Mutual aid

UX/UI design

ATX Free Fridge

Food waste

Redistribution of resources

Material Union

Textile Recycling

Free Fridges 

Apparel waste

Upcycling

Circular economies

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