@curious_sleuth

Stacey Rozen

“In these unprecedented times, each of us can offer a small act of loving-kindness to others, the gift of a smile. Smiles hide behind masks, yet we can smize with our eyes. A kind-hearted smize spreads virally in a rippled contagion.

Being kind is a revolutionary act. Be a revolutionist! Fuel a global revolution! Wear the Revolution art mask and smize!”

Stacey curated a collection of embroidered masks for the Art of Kindness exhibition. Read her curatorial statement here.

Stacey is a curious sleuth at (he)art, a story weaving investigator of interestingness. She believes in the potency of transmedia storytelling to engage the commonality, diversity and essence of personal and collective experiences. By creatively immersing the audience in real-world yarns, Stacey sculpts revolutionary movements in the hope that her heartistry will fuel meaningful change.

As an interdisciplinary designer and expressive arts practitioner, Stacey resonates at the intersection of purposeful design and mindful expression. Her creative practice bridges modalities gifting her an abundant artistic vocabulary for graphic/interior design and community-based arts. Stacey is a designer, an illustrator with digital graphics and thread, a writer, an idea innovator and a gatherer of kindred spirits for collaborative causes.

Stacey’s heart-work is as a craftivist. She threads her lifelong passion for fibre handicrafts of crochet, knit, embroidery and appliqué with embodied yarns stitched for advocacy and social justice. Yarn graffiti led her to become a (former undercover, now overt) yarn bomber of guerrilla street art. Her Master of Arts dissertation focussed on craftivism to stop gender-based violence in South Africa. It includes a case study on Story Scarves, a craftivism project for vulnerable teen girls which she founded and facilitated.

Stacey is currently creating the series, Our Yarns are the Tellers of Us. The collection explores the synergy between analogue yarns, whose threaded vernacular is handcrafted, and the digital yarns they transmute into. Her intent is to share impactful yarns through the artistry-of-craft and craftistry-of-art.