Music from Scrap Exhibition
Join Eco-Cycle in welcoming a creative take on reuse in Boulder at Music from Scrap, a performance and installation project by on view at the Boulder Public Library’s Canyon Gallery starting next month.
Eco-Cycle is proud to support Music from Scrap, an imaginative exhibition and performance series that uses the power of art and music to explore how reuse can reshape the way we think about natural resources. This ongoing exhibition by composer-performer-artists Abby Kellems, Gavin Kitchen, and Jessie Lausé will run at the Boulder Public Library’s Canyon Gallery from February 7 through April 3, 2026, and features playable musical instruments and graphic scores created from found, recycled, and repurposed materials, inviting visitors to explore reuse through hands-on music-making.
This project offers a compelling way to show how reused and repurposed materials can take on new life through music. By transforming discarded materials into fully playable instruments, Music from Scrap invites our community to consider how creativity and reuse can shape a more circular future.
Join us for the opening concert on Saturday, February 7, at 2:00 pm in the Canyon Theater at the Boulder Public Library, featuring a presentation by Eco-Cycle’s Lex Shannon.
As the saying goes, waste isn’t waste until we waste it.
At Eco-Cycle, we believe the key to achieving circularity in Colorado is changing the way we interact with and consider natural resources. While recycling is an important part of this system, our goal is to encourage folks to see that resources are most valuable in their original form—still in the ground. Every time we can avoid extracting new materials, it’s a win for circularity. Music from Scrap reflects this philosophy by demonstrating how materials that already exist can be repurposed in meaningful and unexpected ways.
The project challenges the music industry’s reliance on virgin materials like wood and metal, which are typically extracted, processed, and shaped into traditional instruments. In contrast, the instruments created for Music from Scrap give new life to materials that have already been through that process. These are fully functional instruments used to perform original music—not novelty objects or simple craft projects.
A quick search for musical instruments made from recycled materials often turns up children’s toys or simple DIY projects, but rarely examples of instruments designed for serious performance. While shifting an entire industry toward circularity is a lofty goal, Music from Scrap focuses on empowering its community to find creativity and joy in climate change solutions at any scale.
The opening concert will feature original music written specifically for instruments built from reused materials, along with participation from Lex Shannon, Public Education and Engagement Senior Manager at Eco-Cycle. The performance will be followed by a reception in the Canyon Gallery, where community members will be invited to play the instruments and make music of their own.
Stay tuned (pun intended) for the latest on reuse!
Eco-Cycle will soon be unveiling our latest tool—designed to support businesses and consumers interested in reuse. The Reuse Hub for Boulder and Beyond is a virtual platform dedicated to celebrating and supporting eco-conscious shopping and dining options throughout our region. It will offer resources on best practices for integrating reusables, guides to secondhand and reuse-focused businesses, and much more.
