The People's Landfill Museum of Bishkek is a co-creation with the community that lives near this large operating landfill that has accepted over 100 million tons of trash since its inception in 1976. This project examines the impact of this site on the environment and the residents who live with it on a daily basis. The museum creates a space for the community to tell their story of the landfill and will feature "artifacts" donated, created, and collected by the public. How might we interpret these objects? How can a museum share the lived experience of a people and a landscape through an exhibition?

 

sTo Len is an interdisciplinary artist whose recent work has centered on collaborations  with abused landscapes and municipal agencies. The cross-disciplinary nature of Len’s  work has included printmaking with polluted waterways, 3D scanning Fresh Kills landfill,  recycling waste into art materials, and hosting performances at Superfund sites. He has  been the Public Artist in Residence at the Department of Sanitation in NY and the first artist in residence at AlexRenew Wastewater Treatment Facility in Virginia. 

Len is based in Queens, NY with familial roots in Vietnam and Virginia, and his work incorporates these bonds by connecting issues of their history, environment, traditions and politics.

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Photos below are by Ilya Denbrov