Redbird: Structural Activation + Community Apprenticeship

Redbird is a structural sculptural system built from hemlock beams, precision-milled steel plates, and cast iron elements that activate through human breath, pressure, and environmental exposure. For the Kindling Fund, the artist will develop a new cycle of Redbird panels alongside a public-facing apprenticeship program (the Echo Fund) that trains emerging artists in joinery, casting, fabrication safety, CNC preparation, and site-responsive installation. The workshops will be grounded in regional material knowledge—wood mills, metal shops, and foundry processes—and influenced by Eastern Woodlands weaving logic, including guidance from ongoing mentorship conversations with Passamaquoddy master basketmaker Jeremy Frey and the artist. The project will culminate in a public open studio activation and structural demonstration, documenting breath-based oxidation and joinery logic as a shared material archive.

Shane Charles on Instagram

Artist bio
Shane Charles is a Maine-born sculptor working in structural systems, cartographic logic, and Indigenous material lineage. His work integrates hemlock, steel, cast metal, erosion, and breath activation into engineered sculptural forms. Recent projects include Redbird (Open Source Gallery, Brooklyn), Into the Sun (Portland Museum of Art), and Waiting for the Sun to Rise (Island Institute / CMCA). He has received support from MASS MoCA, NARS Foundation, Indigo Arts Alliance, the Montello Foundation, Hospitalfield (Scotland), SPACE Gallery, and the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation.

Image caption: Shane Charles Redbird, Activation View, 2024, Activation imprint across conditioned steel surface, registering salt and moisture transfer. Hemlock, oxidized steel, stainless steel. Gallery Installation, New York.