stories of connection in a lonely year.

The pandemic has tested our limits. Each phase brought with it a bit of whiplash and out reserves got depleted, but what were the moments that gave us fuel for the next day? What have we been shown that we used to rush by, take for granted or overlook? What are the moments of clarity that we had the privilege to pause, notice and embrace?

Mundane Times celebrates the connections we had to each other and to our communities throughout the pandemic. As these memories fade, let this glimpse in the rear-view mirror serve as a time capsule for unprecedented times.

The limited edition newspaper will be available for free at rotating locations throughout Berkeley, CA. Check the website for current location or to request a copy in the mail. Each week, one story from the paper will be read aloud on the Mundane Times hotline. Call 510-859-3037 to hear a story.

Project by Kate Pocrass

Funded by a Berkeley Art Works Project Grant from the City of Berkeley’s Civic Arts Program

https://www.mundanetimes.news/

@mundanetimesnewspaper

Average is a shiny magazine without the shine, celebrating ordinary moments & the minutia our lives are based on, without
pretension & full of honesty. With so many shiny new items to own, instagrams to keep up with, & new restaurants to post
reviews about, what happened to savoring good old-fashioned average moments? The times of the day when you are aimlessly
pushing back your cuticles, when you talk about your bunions with your friends, figuring out the average amount of time it takes
you to choose what to wear in the morning. Average intends to bring a sort of special-ness to the banal, in hopes that we can revel
in the beauty of moments that unwittingly pass by. You can buy a copy here.

A special edition of Average made while Artist in Residence at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Using the museum’s seasonal publication as an art space, Average was inserted within the pages to give readers a unique glimpse into obscure details of the Hammer collection, staff and visitors.

A free special edition of Average created for the For-Site Foundation’s exhibition International Orange. A playful field guide
exploring the Golden Gate Bridge, bringing to light the quiet details and human stories of daily life at and around the bridge.

Mundane Journeys was a public art hotline established in 2001 to call attention to easily overlooked, everyday details. Letter-pressed calling cards were distributed at participating galleries and museums. Each week participants called the hotline to be directed to a location and guided through what to do once there. The hotline was unplugged in 2009. A selection from the audio archives is here!

64 page guide to San Francisco featuring a sampling of Mundane Journeys from the hotline. Created by Kate Pocrass. Illustrated by Kate Pocrass & Patrick J. Kavanagh. Self-published with support by a grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission. You can buy a copy here.

64 page guide to San Francisco featuring a sampling of color-themed Mundane Journeys. Created by Kate Pocrass. Illustrated by Kate Pocrass & Patrick J. Kavanagh. Self-published with support by a grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission. You can buy a copy here.

13”x24” poster of Oakland designed for Oakland Museum of California. Buy it here.

13" x 24" poster of downtown San Francisco designed for Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Bay Area Now 4. Buy it here.

13" x 24" poster of Orange County designed for the Orange County Museum of Art 2006 California Biennial. Buy it here.

Mundane Journeys Bus and Audio excursions were created for various arts organizations including Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, SFMOMA, Orange County Museum of Art, Southern Exposure, Dwell and The San Francisco Arts Commission.

The bus expeditions covered areas of the city containing the highest volume of Mundane activity. Destinations were undisclosed until the passengers were onboard. Once settled in, passengers were shown instructional videos, which highlighted specific details about the section of the city they were headed to. Once reaching a destination, passengers disembarked and trusty handouts guided them through the city streets. Journeyers were instructed not to overcrowd the unsuspecting establishments they were visiting. A bus-themed soundtrack was played enroute.

Residents of Palo Alto were invited to identify places throughout the City—known and hidden—that make them happy. Participants provided input through an electronic survey, which was compiled,interpreted, and illustrated creating a map called This is Happiness: Palo Alto. Free copies of the 20” x 30” map were available at the Palo Alto Art Center and other sites throughout the city.

A collection of Stolen Soaps surreptitiously gathered over the course of 4 years. An array of 73 photographs depicting soap pilfered from the medicine chests, sinks and tubs of homes I visited. The fairly harmless act of stealing this highly personal yet ephemeral object reveals the precarious sense of trust that's applied to the intimate spaces we share.

20” x 30” Poster - memories of pivotal days distilled into overlapping colors - One Day transforming into Day One.