work. As long-time member John Iversen told me, “It’s very interesting as an experiment in how collections are formed. We have a very democratic way.” Unlike collections in private hands or museums, which reflect the tastes of patrons or curators, the AJDC projects have generated what Iversen calls “a live collection” that is “under the control of the artists.” AJDC president Barbara Heinrich takes this notion a step further, referring to the organization itself as “a living organism” that feeds and sustains its members in mid-career. “When we’re in college we get challenges all the time, we get themes, we have deadlines, and we make something. Once we’re on our career path, we don’t have that anymore,” she says. “We take that annual theme as a challenge to produce something completely different. . . . And for me at least it has opened up a lot of channels within myself and really has been fueling my work.” In addition to feeding the creativity of its members, the AJDC also has an outward-facing mission: to educate the public and promote an WAVE DETAIL BY MICHAEL GOOD