Kirsha Kaechele
Kirsha Kaechele is an artist, curator, and Mona’s better half, or Mrs. Mona (Museum of Old and New Art). She’s founder of Material Institute—a non-profit social project with branches in New Orleans, USA, and Lutruwita / Tasmania. She is interested in the space where complex problems exist, and places transformation at the heart of her work—turning flaws into features, shit into gold. For Kaechele, problems are a medium for art.Projects past and present include: the Ladies Lounge: a lavish, ladies-only haven in the museum (no men allowed, except the butlers); Forest Economics Congress: an act of radical diplomacy uniting economists, the forestry industry, scientists, conservationists and artists at Mona to tackle the question, ‘what is the true value of a tree / forest?’ (like the Congress, this question is evolving, the project ongoing); Eat the Problem: a food and art compendium (typically, gob-smackingly deluxe) featuring a series of ‘recipes’ using invasive species, both real and surreal, with an accompanying exhibition at Mona; and CA$H 4 GUN$—a conceptual artwork in the form of a gun buyback scheme in New Orleans.
Sunrise Sessions
Kirsha Kaechele is an artist and curator at Mona (Museum of Old and New Art), and founder of Material Institute, her charity with branches in two countriesL New Orleans, USA, and lutruwita / Tasmania, Australia. She is interested in the space where complex problems exist, and places transformation at the heart of her work. For Kaechele, problems are a medium for art. Her projects include: 24 Carrot—building kitchen gardens in low-income schools and communities; CA$H 4 GUN$—a conceptual artwork in the form of a gun buyback scheme in New Orleans; Heavy Metal—an art-science initiative hellbent on cleansing timtumili minanya (River Derwent) of heavy metal contaminants; Ladies Who Jump—a philanthropically minded annual skinny dip in the depths of winter; and Eat the Problem—a super-deluxe food and art compendium featuring a series of ‘recipes’ using invasive species (both real and surreal) with an accompanying exhibition at Mona that featured the world’s largest glockenspiel, tuned to the frequency of the Earth. She is currently investigating and investing in forests globally.