The Ties That Bind Asheville is an artist-led, participatory public installation created by Emily Clanton and historically sited in Asheville, North Carolina. The project was initiated approximately eight months after Tropical Storm Helene, during a period of ongoing recovery, when the surrounding area had sufficiently stabilized to support a participatory installation that would not interfere with physical restoration. The active installation phase ran from May 18, 2025 through November 7, 2025. During this period, community members contributed fabric ties as individual gestures, while the artist maintained responsibility for the project’s conceptual structure, ethical framework, and documentation. This record establishes the provenance, authorship, and lineage of The Ties That Bind Asheville, situating the project within a longer trajectory of participatory, civic, and arts-in-health practice. While the active installation phase has concluded, the work remains associated with its original site in an afterlife shaped by time, weather, and community presence. Future adaptations, re-commissions, or offsite activations are considered separate authored works and are negotiated individually. Copyright registration serves to clarify authorship and stewardship and to support informed, respectful dialogue regarding potential future engagements.
Emily Clanton (2026) studied this question.