Entangled: Robert Owen Virtual Conversation

Event Details

As a Robert Owen descendant who chose to live in New Harmony almost twenty years ago, Docey Lewis continues to be inspired by his prescient vision for a “New Moral World.” Owen funded his vision for an American utopia through success in his Scottish textile business, New Lanark Mill. Ms. Lewis’ own long career in textiles has afforded her the opportunity to work globally and to participate in businesses, organizations and communities that often live and work cooperatively to improve the lives of artisans. Their co-creation with nature, ancestral knowledge, artisans and the marketplace never ceases to bring her both joy and a deep respect for their interconnectivity. Having not been able to make her usual international travels for the past year and a half, Ms. Lewis has spent time in her New Harmony, Indiana studio, making art, entangled in a myriad of recycled materials, rejects, studio detritus and her own hopes and fears for the future. Utopia is much on her mind. Her story is not one of ground-breaking ideas, but rather, the tale of a foot soldier on the path of trying to do good through commerce. One does not need the fortune of a Robert Owen to do the right thing, but one must have a vision, and not be afraid to work hard, play well with others and be somewhat fearless.

“Entangled” weaves a tale of how Robert Owen entered Docey Lewis’ life as an ancestor-mentor, whose ideas she studied and attempted to apply throughout her career.

Docey Lewis has worked for forty years in over forty-five countries as a designer and sourcing consultant for commercial companies, governments and international development organizations. She began her career in San Francisco as an artist, weaver and yarn designer, developing fabrics for fashion and interiors. Docey and her son Owen currently operate a studio, DESIGN BANK 505 in New Harmony, and are advisors to a weaving and papermaking factory in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Questions? Contact Claire Eagle at ceagle@usi.edu.

This program received an Indiana Humanities Action Grant.