UNFOLD PROJECTS

What UNFOLD Projects does in its work, how, with whom, and what our outcomes hope to achieve..  and most of all why... Learn more via our new website/link in bio. #unfoldprojects #stewardship #encinitas #idyllwild #regenerativedesign

A glimpse of We Must Imagine It, opening Saturday, May 30th from 4–7pm. Free and open to all @icasandiego / North. The exhibition runs until August 2, 2026.⁠ ⁠ We Must Imagine It gathers 20 regionally based artists and designers, each a member of the Guild for UNFOLD Encinitas—a curated collective of practitioners exploring natural materials and regenerative practices in art and design. ⁠ ⁠ We Must Imagine It will be an emblem to their collective knowledge, craft, and experimentation; and a means to elevate regenerative approaches in design and production, to inspire a paradigm shift toward more conscious, materially grounded forms of creative development and realization. ⁠ ⁠ Cabinet by Nicholas Pourfard with Stephen Hartzog, @nbijanpourfard @stephenhartzog ⁠ Deconstructed old-growth redwood and copper remnants from the roof of UNFOLD Encinitas, 2026.

A dedicated time for self-expansion, rejuvenation, and rediscovery, our UNFOLD Encinitas Artist Residency allows its guest(s) to step outside of the frantic daily cycle of production and performance. It is housed within our "Artist Flat," a private 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom space in a residential neighborhood, just in front of the Main House of UNFOLD Encinitas, where Residency co-director Mel Meagher will host. Rest and recalibrate in the shared outdoor dining areas, sauna, outdoor shower, cedar hot tub, and zen garden. The second bedroom is also available to house a resident's children or collaborator. A workshop in the Artist Flat is available for the resident's use during their stay to dream up ways to better their practices for the planet or to, simply, sit and…be. Although the residency does not require any output, the resident will also have access to the ceramic studio and painting studio at @icasandiego / North. The Residency is located in the coastal town of Encinitas in North County San Diego, California and rests on the native land of the Kumeyaay people. The residency is a 15-minute walk to town, Swami's beach, meditation gardens, and a 30-minute drive to downtown San Diego. Visit link in bio to apply for the artist residency. Applications are due by May 30th at 12:00pm PST/ 3:00am EST. Photography by Justin Chung @justinchung

OPEN CALL * ARTIST RESIDENCY: We are so pleased to share some very big news. Our unfolding continues.. We’re currently accepting applications for our Unfold Residency...an opportunity for artists across disciplines (painters, poets, sculptors, chefs, environmentalists, writers, researchers, and more) to tap into space, time, and resources for creative regeneration at our Encinitas Edition. Our Encinitas Residency exists to support artists whose practices are dedicated to the advancing of natural, bio-based or repurposed materials, or the preservation of traditional and indigenous craft. From two weeks to one month, the Residency aims to center the artist’s sphere of self-expansion, working toward a mutual goal of planetary and interpersonal care. Our offerings include a $10,000 stipend, opportunities for connections within our local community/network to further each artist’s/creative’s individual practice, within a time that is outside of the commercial pressures of day-to-day production and performance. There is no requirement to create work during the residency. Unfold Projects’ residency programs intentionally prioritize applications from women, transgender, nonbinary, and gender-marginalized artists, Black, Indigenous, artists of color, and low-income artists. Key details for your consideration: Apply by May 30, 2026 via the link in our bio. The residency will take place in Encinitas, California in partnership with @icasandiego North in September 2026. All FAQs and more information on our website. #opencall #opencallforartists #2026opencall

[33.0370° N, 117.2920° W⁠] A Bottle Tree, Brachychiton rupestris, in a vintage planter. Planted by Britton Neubacher @tendliving via @printwoodshop within our Encinitas Edition. Photography by Justin Chung @justinchung

Unfold Projects, in partnership with @icasandiego , is pleased to announce the group exhibition, We Must Imagine It, opening Saturday, May 30th from 4–7pm. Free and open to all. The exhibition runs until August 2, 2026. Curated by Mel Meagher, Founder + Creative Director at Unfold Projects and Stacy Kelley, Director of Art at Unfold Projects, We Must Imagine It coincides with ICA San Diego’s 2026-2027 season and responds to their overarching theme “The Hours Have Lost Their Clocks: Nostalgia And Speculative Futurism”. Unfold Projects interprets this theme as an inquiry between two binaries of past and future, one that longs for an irretrievable past and the other, an idealized future. We Must Imagine It exists in the beautiful in-between, gathering a curated collective of 20 regionally based artists and designers, each a member of the Guild for Unfold’s first Edition, to explore material reuse, natural materials, and regenerative practices in art and design. We Must Imagine It will be an emblem to their collective knowledge, craft, and experimentation as well as an invitation to others to reimagine their own role within an ecosystem. Daniella Algarate @d.algarate Debbie Bean @debbie.bean Brillan de la Cerda @tonatiuh.project Nik Gelormino @nik_gelormino Aaron Glasson @aaronglasson Stephen Hartzog @stephenhartzog Laura Huerta @stellamohr Miki Iwasaki @miki_iwasaki Jason Lane @jxlstudio Christine Lee @missleeleeleelee Heather Levine @heatherlevineceramics Annalise Neil @annalise_neil_studio Britton Neubacher @tendliving Nicholas Pourfard @nbijanpourfard Sasha Seyb @sashaseyb Vince Skelly @vince.skelly Margaret R. Thompson @margaret_r_thompson Lani Trock @lanitrock Lauren Verdugo @laurenverdoodles Ren von Hasseln @renceramics_ Event graphic by Gander @gandergrams Featured artwork by Margaret R. Thompson

Introducing a glimpse of works from the UNFOLD Guild, our expanding network of regional artists, designers, and craftspeople that we form to collaborate and co-design with on each project, each Edition. Our first Edition, located in Encinitas, resembles an ensemble-like performance: 115-site specific works all under the same roof (or sky), from 20 individual practices. Together it exemplifies a collective of expertise, deftness, material knowledge whether it be salvaged, studio remnants, or natural, in wood, clay, glass, copper, or more... Individually, each piece––from furniture, to hardware, sculpture, objects, to custom architectural and landscape elements––is informed by regenerative design principles and the property. Visit our website to learn more about our first Edition’s Guild, who they are, and what they created. Later this summer, we can’t wait to share more from our studio visits with each individual whom we are so lucky to know and learn from. Video by @sundaypeoplestudio Landscape by @ranacohabitat Works shown within by @d.algarate , @gad.artandfabrication , @miki_iwasaki , @aaronglasson , @tonatiuh.project , @renceramics_ , @tendliving

[Part 2] Looking back at Where Life Continues. A meal, a celebration, and a commencement in collaboration with PADMA and Chef Dev. We opened up the doors of Encinitas Edition last weekend to recognize the work that has unfolded over the past three years and all that is to come. It was magical to see the space enlivened by conversation, joy, curiosity, and belonging. Thank you to all our guests who shared this night with us. 🌀 Installation design & ceramics by PADMA @padma.earth Dinner & food design by Chef Dev @_devsmith Wine by Shrieking Meemies @shriekingmeemies Unfold Margarita by Las Olas @lasolasmex Beautifully captured by Stacy Keck @stacykeck

Looking back at Where Life Continues: A meal, a celebration, and a commencement in collaboration with PADMA and Chef Dev on April 4th, 2026. Last weekend we recognized the three-year process with a gathering that celebrated our Encinitas Edition’s launch and its Guild. We toasted to a collaborative and regeneratively-led future, and enjoyed a menu and sculptural dining installation, derived by PADMA and Chef Dev, with three conceptual themes: 1 - Return: Arrival as remembrance. The evening began with honoring the land’s first stewards. 2 - Integration: Life is in relationship, an experience recognizing the ecological web around us. 3 - Transformation: Finally, regeneration made visible. The process of continuing through slow transformation. Thank you to our collaborators and our friends for joining us for a very memorable day✨🦋 Installation design & ceramics by PADMA @padma.earth Dinner & food design by Chef Dev @_devsmith Wine by Shrieking Meemies @shriekingmeemies Unfold Margarita by Las Olas @lasolasmex Beautifully captured by Stacy Keck @stacykeck

The catalyst to our origin story. Our first Edition is located in Encinitas, California and rests on the native land of the Kumeyaay people. Read more below to learn how Unfold Projects’ founder, Mel Meagher @mel.meagher , arrived at their renewed purpose within design, development, and stewardship via site and context: “I worked for ten years in the design and development industry and noticed how development as usual typically puts artistry and ecological design (if they are even budgeted for) toward the end of projects, rushed in with quick timelines and unrealistic budgets for research, development, and implementation. The extractive example of this system perpetuates even in renovation projects, resulting in spaces that are often mass produced with not much context in terms of the site, its materials, and its programming. This creates a lack of connection and purpose for not only people experiencing the space after its completion, but most importantly, for those creating it.

An idea emerged. What if a space was crafted by a constellation of artists, designers, contractors, and specialists, working with a vision to rediscover a different type of process, entirely interwoven with a thread of purpose? What if artists and nature influenced the design, rather than being brought in at the last second of a project? What if we modeled stewardship for an evolving earth, and what if those models weren’t turned for profit, but instead hosted artists, inspiring them to steward their own reimaginings for a better earth?

I searched for the right first ‘Edition’ – this model for rediscovery and proof of concept for the paradigm shifts I wanted to see – for years. Then, I found UNFOLD Encinitas...” More on the original architectural design and intent, history and context of the Encinitas home soon, and within our link in bio. Second image by Justin Chung @justinchung Third image courtesy of Pat McGriff, the original builder of the Encinitas house.

Introducing our leadership... slide 1: Mel Meagher @mel.meagher (they/them) is UNFOLD PROJECTS’ Founder and Creative Director, managing each element of the platform, from the development, restoration, and aesthetic direction of its Editions, to its Guild members, the UNFOLD Residency, and its corresponding community events, workshops, and exhibitions. Mel led design and development in the traditional real estate realm for ten years, which sparked a passion for a more holistic way that puts artistry, ecology, and ongoing stewardship at the forefront. 
 slide 2: Stacy Kelley @stacykelleyy (she/her) Director of Art and Co-Director of the Unfold Residency. Kelley curates and manages site-specific artwork for UNFOLD’s Editions and co-directs the UNFOLD Residency and event programming. Kelley draws on over twenty years working closely with international artists and designers to exhibit their work through experiential formats, including commissioned artwork for design projects, public art, and community programming. Photography by Justin Chung @justinchung

Quote from Rainer Maria Rilke’s Book of Hours, first published in 1905. ⁠ The Origin of our Name, Unfold Projects: ‘Unfold’ was always a word we gravitated towards and used in regards to process, whether it was in work, site development, or more. ⁠ ⁠ As Rilke shares in this poem, ‘unfolding’ is about discovering an entire truth, revealing the essence of something. To us, that is what our work––the co-design of context-led sites and their embedded programming–– seeks to achieve via rediscovery.⁠ ⁠ We see evolution as still dedicated to an origin point. When it comes to design, architecture, and our programming, we are not interested in full departures. We seek to honor the connections within our spaces, their ecologies, their communities… in bold, different ways. This poem points beautifully to the paradigm shift we are after and how it happens via truth.⁠ ⁠ #rainermariarilke #poetry #bookofhours