Presented alongside my new build!, The Lagniappe Bead Shop transformed the SHED shop into a space of exchange, gathering, and communal making. Developed through an open call, the project brought together local and national artists working with beads and bead-based practices, highlighting the wide range of forms, histories, and material traditions embedded within the medium.

Borrowing its name from the Louisiana tradition of the lagniappe—something extra given in the spirit of generosity—the project invited visitors to purchase, trade, barter, and exchange handmade beads and objects. Glass, clay, wood, metal, and experimental materials circulated through the space, allowing the shop to function not only as a marketplace but also as a site of conversation and reciprocity.

Throughout the exhibition, artists and community members contributed beads of their own, creating an evolving environment shaped by acts of exchange and shared stewardship. In this way, the Lagniappe Bead Shop extended the themes of my new build! beyond the gallery, opening the program to broader forms of participation and emphasizing the social and cultural relationships that emerge through making.