The 12x12 Project: What are the dimensions of your life?

The World Policy Institute (WPI), in collaboration with top New York City artists, invites you to view the first art installation of The 12x12 Project at Queens Botanical Garden beginning on July 2, 2013. The installation, along with artists who will engage in a community dialog, will be in residence at the Garden through the month of July. The project stems from author and WPI Senior Fellow, William Powers, who was inspired by the powerful story of a North Carolina pediatrician who gave up a luxurious home to live off the grid in a 12' x 12' house and permaculture farm. The living art structure's mission is to engage the public in dialogue about how smarter consumption might change their lives -- and the planet.

Powers, who spent a season living in the "tiny house" chronicled his stay in the 2010 award-winning, national "green living" bestseller, now in its fifth printing: Twelve by Twelve: A One Room Cabin, Off the Grid & Beyond the American Dream. The 12x12 Project grows out of this experience.

The first installation of the 12x12 at Queens Botanical Gardens will begin with a community build at the site on July 2, and will be kicked off with an official launch party on July 13. The initial build will be erected by Habitat for Artists' Simon Draper in collaboration with and with assistance from White Roof Project, Bus Roots, Aellon and The Refugee and Immigrant Fund. The installation is a simple, modular space that houses panels containing text and questions from the Twelve by Twelve book. These panels will vary, allowing the project to grow and evolve. Participants including the public, invited groups and artists will engage with the question: "What's your 12x12?" to spark new thinking around what smart consumption means for each person.