Since 2017, artists and educators Sharon Massey and Sean Derry have collaborated on public projects that feature design, technology and civic engagement. Their collaboration, Local X Change, seeks to democratize art and technology by presenting interactive events such as pop-up stores that sell empty paper packages, tropical installations on traffic islands and fake reality tv shows. Embedding tech components in these otherwise absurd situations demystifies the technology for viewers and participants. As educators, Sharon and Sean empower their students to contribute original design components to their public projects, and as individual artists, Sharon and Sean have a range of skill sets that enable them to come together as collaborators and create projects that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.