Last week, Drew Matott and Margaret Mahan from Peace Paper were on campus to conduct Panty Pulping workshops in papermaking and printmaking.  Drew and Margaret have been on campus before to for workshops and to make paper, but this was the first time that panties have been pulped on campus!

As they describe the project, “Panty Pulping workshops bring people together to share their strengths and joy through the transformation of their most intimate garments into paper. The concept of creating paper from clothing with personal significance reaches a new level as participants of all ages snip, beat, and reform their underwear together. When we pulp our underwear, we make a statement that violence will not be tolerated.  We stand together in solidarity for survivors, for the global advancement of women, and for creative revolutions.”

This week-long, multi-layered event brought awareness of sexual assault to a wide audience through active participation and hands-on learning. The content is social activism through the vehicle of art-making.

This morning, NCPR aired a story by Zach Hirsch which describes the Panty Pulping project:  Margaret and Drew interviewed by Zach Hirsch, NCPR.

And more photographs are available on the gallery’s flickr site.