Monthly Archives: June 2010

BP Keeps Arts Sponsorship as Pressure Grows for Spill Damages – Bloomberg.com

June 22, 2010newsBloomberg, Bp, Bp Plc, British Museum, Damages, David Nicholas, Institutions, London, National Portrait Gallery, Oil Spill, Partnerships, Royal Opera House, Spokesman, Sponsorship, Tate Britain, Telephone Interview

June 18 Bloomberg — BP Plc, which has shed 45 percent of its market value after causing the U.S.â€™s worst-ever oil spill, said it will keep sponsoring the British Museum, the Royal Opera House, Tate Britain and the National Portrait Gallery in London.

â€œThese are longstanding partnerships that we have with major cultural institutions in the U.K.,â€ BP spokesman David Nicholas said in a telephone interview yesterday. â€œTheyâ€™re completely unchanged, as far as Iâ€™m concerned.â€

BP Keeps Arts Sponsorship as Pressure Grows for Spill Damages – Bloomberg.com.

Arcola Recieves Green Tourism Gold Award

June 21, 2010ArcolaArcola Theatre, Audit Report, Bronze Award, Business Scheme, Carless, Energy Efficiency, Gold Award, Green Tourism, Hospitality Industry, Local Produce, London Hackney, North East London, Projects Manager, Responsible Tourism, Sustainability Projects, Tourism Award, Tourism Business, Tourism Gold, Visit Britain, Waste Minimisation

Arcola Theatre is delighted to announce that it has achieved Green Tourism Award Gold standard. Sustainability Projects Manager, Rachel Carless, and the rest of the sustainability team worked hard to fulfil the rigorous set of criteria set out by the Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS), who came to carry out an audit at the end of April. Arcola is now the first theatre in the UK to achieve a Gold award in Green Tourism and is proud to be recognised as â€˜a strong local catalyst in greening North East London (Hackney and surrounding districts)â€™.

The GTBS, developed by the International Centre for Responsible Tourism and validated by Visit Britain, is the largest of its type in the world, and since 1997 has worked to make tourism and the hospitality industry in the UK more sustainable. The audit covers areas such as energy efficiency, waste minimisation and recycling, use of local produce, and support of public transport, its overall aim to encourage sustainability in business and provide the consumer with a â€˜greenâ€™ choice.

Attempting to improve on the Bronze Award, received in 2008, the sustainability team had a number of issues to address including improving links with other GTBS members (e.g. Arts Admin), developing better systems for measuring the theatreâ€™s energy use, and sourcing greener cleaning products. In the GTBSâ€™ audit report, special mention was given to Arcolaâ€™s success in communicating the green message, in particular through the Green Sundays events and the green notice board up in the cafÃ©/bar. Reaching the GTBSâ€™ Gold standard is recognition of Arcola Theatreâ€™s ongoing commitment to sustainability and its goal of becoming the worldâ€™s first carbon-neutral theatre.

The Green Tourism audit report can be viewed here.

Go to Arcola Energy

New Exhibition at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum! Fritz Haeg

June 20, 2010newsAgriculture, Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, American Dream, Animals, Atrium, Compost, Contemporary Art Museum, Definitions, Exhibition, Fritz Haeg, June 27, Museum Staff, Participatory Projects, People, Photographs, Plants, Productive Garden, Studio Projects, Time Lapse

The Aldrich is pleased to announce the opening of a new exhibition

Fritz Haeg: Something for Everyone

June 27, 2010, to January 2, 2011

Experience Fritz Haegâ€™s unconventional exhibition, Something for Everyone, a series of participatory projects for plants, animals, and people presented in the Museumâ€™s grounds and atrium. One component, Edible Estate #9, places a productive garden on the Museumâ€™s pristine front lawn in Ridgefieldâ€™s historic district, where the Museum staff will grow their own food and create compost, transforming this longstanding symbol of the â€œAmerican Dreamâ€ and questioning definitions of agriculture and art. For updates about programs and events related to the exhibition, as well as time-lapse photographs of the installation, please visit:

www.fritzhaeg.com/studio/projects/aldrich.html

Exhibition Opening

Sunday, June 27, 2010; 2:30 to 5:30 pm

Join us at the reception; explore the work on view; and meet the artist!

New Exhibition at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum! Fritz Haeg.

WCA Elements: Eco Art Conference page @ Brower Center

June 18, 2010Announcements, ConferencesAndree, Apos S, Art Conference, Berkeley Ca 94704, Colby, Conversation Topics, Cutler, Daniella, David Brower, Deborah Thomas, Entrance Fee, Leibovitz, Munk, Page Elements, Panelists, Ruth Wallen, Short Films, Steinman, Thys, Tierney

On Friday, June 25th, there are three panels arranged to flow in series, on after another and they are Genre's of Eco-Art, Collaboration and Community and in the afternoon, Issues and Activism

Genres of Eco-Art: Moderator, Deborah Thomas with Â Susan Leibovitz Steinman and Ruth Wallen as panelists.

Collaboration and Community: Moderator Susan Leibovitz SteinmanÂ with Â Joyce Cutler-Shaw, Jennifer Colby, Deborah Munk and Tierney ThysÂ as panelists.

Issues and Activism: Moderator, Michelle Lipsinki with Andree Singer Thompson, Beverly Naidus, Daniella RussoÂ andÂ Â Samantha Fields as panelists.

There are also short films being shown in a separate room, during these panels and through the breaks.

You can spend your day in either place, or mingling with the other attendees. At your hosted luncheonÂ the panelists will have tables earmarked for conversation topics,Â relevant to the work of the panelist.

Entrance fee for the entire conferenceÂ is $90Â in advance and $125 at the door. Conference schedule is at the bottom of this page.

Elements Conference schedule on June 25th, 2010 at the David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA 94704

WCA Elements: Eco Art Conference page @ Brower Center.

Autonomous technology and art in the North < The Arts Catalyst

June 18, 2010newsApos S, Arctic Canada, Art Project, Autonomous Technology, Biederman, Brainchild, Catalyst, Ecological Significance, Environmental Monitoring, Global Media, Indigenous Cultures, Infrastructures, Interesting Questions, Living In The Arctic, Mobile Work, National Interests, Nomadic Lifestyles, Pond Inlet, Practical Project, Specialisation

The Arctic Perspective Initiative (API) is working towards the construction of free, open, information sharing infrastructures for people living in the Arctic. It is the brainchild of artists Marko Peljhan and Matthew Biederman, and grew out of Peljhan's 10-year Makrolab project. As the first step, the API is working in collaboration with communities in Arctic Canada to design a mobile work and habitation unit to support seasonally nomadic lifestyles. A prototype is currently being built in Pond Inlet, Nunavut. When complete, the unit will be customisable to suit a variety of needs and uses on the land: from basic survival and safety, to global media streaming, communications, and environmental monitoring.

API is an art project, conceived by an artist and presented in arts contexts, which sets out to highlight the cultural, geopolitical and ecological significance of the Arctic and its indigenous cultures. It is also a network of individuals and organisations working collaboratively on a practical project: a utopian quest for an a 'third culture' beyond specialisation and national interests. It it art? It seems to me that more interesting questions are rather: Is this something that art can do? And how do we do it well?

–Nicola Triscott, Director

Read he full article here:Â Autonomous technology and art in the North < Blog < The Arts Catalyst.

EcoArt Treasure Coast Apprentices Rock OUT with “Floating Islands”

June 17, 2010newsApprentices, Arts Organizations, Community Foundation, Community Volunteers, Disptach, Ecoart, Environmental Specialists, Environmental Studies Center, Floating Islands, Fos, Martin Counties, Oceanographic Institute, Palm Beach, Public Education, Responsive Approach, Salt Water Lagoon, Thomas Winter, Treasure Coast, Video Documentation, Watersheds, Winter Thanks

A Disptach from South Florida Â EcoArt Projects:

VERY EXCITING!! A new video has just been finished. We wanted to bring it to you right away!!
See below for the link!

How quickly our EcoArt apprentices are making contacts and enlisting talent! This most recent effort in documenting theÂ apprentices’ projects was made possible by well known Treasure Coast photographerÂ Thomas Winter…THANKS, TOM!

ThisÂ first project byÂ EcoArt Treasure Coast apprentices demonstrates very clearly exactly how SFEAPÂ expects EcoArt to spread across South Florida. First, artists interested inÂ “trying on” EcoArt practice are recruited.

Second, with the help of an experienced EcoArt practitioner (in this case,Â Betsy Damon) these artists begin to learn what is involved…research, enlistment of community volunteers and collaboration from scientists and environmental specialists.

Third, seeking partnerships with local environmentalÂ and arts organizations (in this case, the famedÂ Florida Oceanographic Instituteand theÂ Environmental Studies Center, both located on the Treasure Coast in Martin County).

Fourth, developing an aesthetically interesting and environmentally responsive approach to a particular problem at a particular site, and producing it fully (in this case, an artificial research oriented salt water “lagoon” used by the FOS for experiments and public education–the lagoon needed a natural way to keep the water clean).

Fifth, informing the public of what has been accomplished (in this case video documentation and interviews with participating apprentices and community volunteers).

KUDOS, Ecoart Treasure Coast apprentices!! You are on the mark as we work together to bring thisÂ model to all South Florida’s watersheds.

Mary Jo Aagerstoun

**EcoArt Treasure Coast is a collaboration between SFEAP, Inc. and the Arts Council of Martin County, funded by the Community Foundation of Palm Beach and Martin Counties and the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and private donations.

EcoArt ApprenticesÂ Â Demonstrate Water-cleaningÂ Floating Islands ClickÂ HERE to see NEW Video about EcoArt Treasure Coast Apprentices’ “Floating Island” project at the Florida Oceanographic InstituteÂ **EcoArt Treasure Coast is a collaborative project of the Arts Council, Inc. (Martin County) and the South Florida Environmental Art Project Inc.Â It is the first of a series of community EcoArt community education and apprenticeship projects that will be organized in each of South Florida ‘s major watersheds by SFEAP, Inc. InitialÂ funding for EcoArt Treasure Coast by the Community Foundation of Palm Beach and Martin Counties, and the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs.

IT”S :HERE!!! EcoArt Treasure Coast Apprentices Rock OUT with “Floating Islands”.

The Stage: Carbon footprint of touring theatre revealed

June 17, 2010AnnouncementsBicycle, Carbon Footprint, Casts, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Hotel Rooms, Moving, Stage News, Tonnes, Touring Theatre

An exclusive story over on THE STAGE, so we can’t give it all away, but please do head over there at the link below!

Moving sets, transporting casts and lighting hotel rooms for British touring theatre companies creates as many greenhouse gas emissions every year as flying around the world 2,680 times, new research has revealed.

According to a new report to be published by green arts organisation Julieâ€™s Bicycle next week, and seen exclusively by The Stage, British touring theatre companies caused around 13,400 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions within the UK and globally in 2009.

The Stage / News / Exclusive: Carbon footprint of touring theatre revealed.

Eco-bling: why the arts sector needs to lead on climate action

June 16, 2010newsActivist, Alison, Apos, Art World, Arts Council England, Bicycle, Bling, Blush, Climate Action, Climate Change, Coca Cola, Dialogue Editor, Environment Dialogue, Gibson, Leading The Way, Lucy, Moral Leadership, Tescos, Tickell, Unilever, Walmart

How should the artworld be responding to the issues of sustainability and the environment? Dialogue editor Lucy Gibson looks at why the arts should be leading the way on climate action, rather than looking to corporations and science for moral leadership.Â But inÂ aÂ sector made up of many individuals and small organisations, alongsideÂ enormous institutions,Â why and how can change really be affected?

Eco-bling: why the arts sector needs to lead on climate action is an interesting article from Lucy Gibson. Take a look at the source when you have a moment.

It should make the art world blush to hear a leading arts and environment activist stating that Walmart, followed by Coca-Cola, Unilever and Tescos, have done more than most in dealing with the impact of climate change. But that is exactly the message from Alison Tickell, Director of Julieâ€™s Bicycle at the Arts Council Englandâ€™s â€˜A Low Carbon Future for the Arts?â€™ consultation meeting in February. â€˜Why do we expect moral leadership to come from corporations and science?â€™ asks Tickell, â€˜Surely the meaningful nature of the arts in society puts it in a position to take a lead on climate action?

Vancouver Park Board – The Ivy Project

June 15, 2010newsArt Installations, Art Project, Community Members, Creative Method, English Ivy, Erosion Blanket, Invasive Species, Ivy Busters, John K Grande, Kallis, Natural Materials, Public Programming, Small Bird, Spes, Stanley Park, Stanley Park Ecology Society, Unwanted Materials, Vancouver Artist, Vancouver Park Board, Volunteer Community

The Ivy Project, led by Sharon Kallis, was a community-involved public programming initiative born out of the Stanley Park Environmental Art Project.

Vancouver artist Sharon Kallis works with unwanted natural materials. Through engaging local community in common handwork, unwanted materials are re-purposed into something new, creating opportunities for individuals to connect with nature in a unique, meditative, yet community oriented way.

Run in partnership with the Vancouver Park Board and the Stanley Park Ecology Society, the Ivy Busters program has removed more than 3.95 hectares of invasive species from Stanley Park since 2004. The intent of The Ivy Project was to create art installations that use the biomass that is unwanted and create opportunities for learning about the ecosystem of the park; is a creative method for observation and turns a material with negative impact to potentially good uses.

The Ivy Project saw over 180 volunteer community members turn mounds of English ivy into crocheted small bird net forms, woven nurse logs, a knitted boat, and a knitted anti-erosion blanket.

Please visitÂ The Ivy Project website for more information and photos on this unique project.

Read anÂ interview with Sharon Kallis by John K. Grande where Sharon goes into more detail around the process of re-purposing the ivy and working with SPES and community members on The Ivy Project.

via Vancouver Park Board – Arts.

Halesworth in Transition: Uplifting upcycling! Stopping shoppers in their tracks

June 15, 2010AnnouncementsBeccles, Easy Oil, Garment, Grassroots Movement, Halesworth, Impacts Of Climate Change, International Transition, Knitters, Knitting, Old Newspapers, Organisers, Peak Oil, Plastic Bags, Positive Attitude, Precious Oil, Sewing Machine, Shopping Bags, Social Group, Stunning Singer, Thoroughfare

On Saturday May 22^nd May Halesworth Thoroughfare saw an upcycling event, complete with hand-powered sewing machine converting cloth into shopping bags, companionable knitting of one garment by two knitters, and making logs from old newspapers.

The event stopped shoppers in their tracks. They were delighted to be given (no cost, no strings attached) a cloth bag to replace their plastic ones and many took patterns to make their own. The organisers now intend to continue their bag-making evenings at the Library, helped by the on-the-spot donation of a stunning Singer hand-powered machine by a generous passer-by. Brampton Primary School, who helped make bags for the event, will be continuing their sewing sessions.

Upcycling is a new word for taking old or unused things and making them into something better.

Organisers Halesworth in Transition (HinT) are part of a widespread and growing grassroots movement of people who are taking a positive attitude to preparing for the impacts of climate change and peak oil (when cheap and easy oil runs out).

For this event HinT had gathered material from generous Halesworth people including members of â€˜Time Outâ€™, Halesworth libraryâ€™s social group for older people. HinT volunteers have been sewing up bags in evenings in the library. Bramptonâ€™s Primary School, who already have a reputation for their environmental awareness, also helped to make bags in the week before the event.

Every minute hundreds of thousands of plastic bags go into circulation globally. This wastes precious oil, creates mountains of waste and kills wildlife.

Many towns are already affiliated to the international Transition movement. Locally, this includes Bungay, Beccles, Framlingham, Woodbridge, Norwich, and Ipswich. HinT is not affiliated to any political party and is a non-profit-making organisation run entirely by volunteers.

For more information about this event and other activities phone 01986 875323 or email hint@talktalk.net