When civilizations look back on those that came before, they often want to know what happened. How did these people live? Why did they disappear? Ceramic sherds – or shards -, made from one of the most durable materials on earth, are some of the most plentiful and useful records of disappeared societies. Our modern archeological excavations have uncovered potsherds as old as 18,300 years, and their study reveals much about these silent, lost civilizations, as well as the history of humankind on the planet.

The UN has declared we have 11 years in which to drastically alter our actions related to the environment, or face “irreversible damage” to our planet and our civilizations. In light of this current crisis and the dramatic shifts due to climate change, overpopulation, resource depletion, land loss, natural disasters, wars, mass human displacement, and food scarcity from man-made and natural causes,

The Shard Project asks us to take a good hard look at what we are doing (or not doing) and to record the realities and reasons for the current crisis…and our very real – and possibly very tragic – future.

Intended to last thousands of years, long after the digital record is unreadable, these potsherds, made from local clay materials from around the country, are an acknowledgement and a confession, a recitation and an atonement. Starkly factual, brutal in their honesty, they tell the story of what happened to us, how we contributed to the crises, - and what we did…and didn’t do - to protect ourselves and our planet home for the future.

MAKE ONE. BURY IT. LEAVE A RECORD.

THE SHARD PROJECT - Open Call

THE SHARD PROJECT is planning a global online exhibition for Spring 2025. If you have access to clay and a kiln (or a firepit!), make some shards, take pictures, send a statement, and be included in the exhibition. Open Call for submissions begins January 2025. For more information, contact THE SHARD PROJECT

Bring THE SHARD PROJECT to your community

THE SHARD PROJECT is available for touring through exhibition and shard-making workshops. Workshops and exhibitions create awareness on the local level and facilitate community discussion on climate change, justice, resilience, and action.

Contact THE SHARD PROJECT for information.

LAURYN AXELROD - ARTIST

Lauryn Axelrod is a multidiscplinary, community-based artist. She has worked in communities from coast-to-coast, and around the world. Among her diverse projects, she has created community-based performances in Vermont, developed community clowns in Ecuador, installed large-scale photographic portraits of endangered fishing communities in Alaska, made documentaries in the Middle East and with at-risk youth in Texas, created poetry with inmates in correctional facilities, developed story radio with seniors, and worked with local artists to create Peace Poles in California. She has presented in TEDx, and taught workshops around the world. Learn more at www.laurynaxelrodart.com