The GLEAN program is a partnership between Metro; Recology, the waste management company that operates Metro South; and Cracked Pots, a non-profit organization that focuses on art and waste reduction. The art program aims to inspire people to think differently about the things they throw away.
Artist Malia Jensen said that it has been very hard to make art over the last two years due to the trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic. When she was awarded the GLEAN residency, she said going to the dump became a working meditation and gave her space to inspiration to wrestle with trauma.
"It was like leaning into the chaos to imagine that I would get to go spend my spare time at the dump," Jensen said.
