Environmental Health Clinic

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Database of Eco Public Art

September 8, 2013Announcements, EcoArt, Open CallsBroader Community, Creative Practitioners, Director Center, Editorial Committee, Environmental Health Clinic, External Constraints, Fenner, International Advisory Committee, Jill Bennett, Natalie Jeremijenko, New York University, Newcombe, Project Legacy, Public Art, Public Artworks, Social Transformation, Sustainable Practice, University College London, University Director, University Of Cincinnati

The Curating Cities Database maps the increasingly important and emerging field of eco-sustainable public art. It is developed as a resource for researchers, academics, artists, curators, educators, commissioning agencies and sponsors working in the field as well as those interested in promoting sustainability via public art. In addition to descriptive information, the database evaluates the aims and outcomes of each project as well as the external constraints (and subsequent negotiations) that influence the production of public artworks. eco-publicart.org

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE

Jill Bennett, Felicity Fenner, Lindsay Kelly and Veronica Tello. Sustainability Consultant: Jodi Newcombe.

INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

T.J Demos (University College London); Ian Garrett (York University/Director, Center for Sustainable Practice); Natalie Jeremijenko (New York University/Director of Environmental Health Clinic); Sacha Kagan (Leuphana University LÃ¼neburg/Founder of Cultura21, Network for Cultures of Sustainability and the International Summer School of Arts and Sciences for Sustainability in Social Transformation); Adrian Parr (University of Cincinnati).

We invite submissions from curators, researchers, academics and creative practitioners.

PURPOSE

Our intention is to develop a resource that will be of value to all those interested in public art, including specialists and the broader community. The database entries are concise but designed to go beyond the short profiles readily available on other sites. To that end, we have developed a template and guidelines designed to elicit key information regarding the sustainability (as conceived within the particular project), legacy, engagement and circumstances of an artworkâ€™s production. Recognising that public art is not always well served by bureaucracies, entries may also record useful information on external constraints and how these were negotiated.

SCOPE

We are looking to achieve expansive coverage and are open to suggestions for inclusion (geographic remit is global). Generally, we interpret public art as a creative art form produced for non-gallery contexts (exceptionally, it may include gallery exhibitions with an explicit external engagement focus). We define â€œeco-sustainabilityâ€ to signify an evident interest in ecological, sustainable and/or environmental concerns. It is not our intent to â€˜policeâ€™ the definition of eco-sustainable public art: we are keen to include work that challenges definitions and expectations. As a general indication, we are interested in substantial work that actively engages with its environmental context (rather than in work that merely represents or symbolises an environmental concern).

SUBMISSION and REVIEW PROCESS

Submissions are peer-reviewed. Each submission should focus on a particular public art project, which must be proposed to the Editorial Committee in advance. Contributors are welcome to profile their own work, either by evaluating their own project or by referencing a larger study or thesis written by them on the same subject. We also invite academics that research and teach in this area to encourage student submissions. We are happy for the template to be used for course assessment exercises and can confer with lecturers regarding the process by which a batch of entries from a class can be peer reviewed/considered for inclusion in the database.

For the template and sustainable evaluation framework and to discuss a potential submission please email v.tello@unsw.edu.au

The Environmental Health Clinic

April 29, 2009newsBiology, Blaffer Gallery, Cynthia Woods Mitchell, Dependence, Environmental Health Clinic, Environments, Genetic Predispositions, Medicine, Mitchell Center, Natalie Jeremijenko, Neuroscience, Physics, Precision Engineering, SOS, sustainability, University Of Houston

Last month, Ian and I travelled to Houston for the Systems of Sustainability Seminar (SOS) hosted by the University of Houston’s Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts and Blaffer Gallery. Â

Natalie Jeremijenko, of the Environmental Health Clinic, was a notable speaker. Â Natalie is an artist with a background in biochemistry, physics, neuroscience and precision engineering. Â She directs the xDesign Environmental Health Clinic, a clinic that prescribes action instead of medicine, and approaches health from an understanding of “its dependence on external local environments; rather than on the internal biology and genetic predispositions of an individual.” Â

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Take a look at projects from the Environmental Health Clinic, including NOPARK, photographed here. Â www.environmentalhealthclinic.net

How to Save the World: Environmental Health Clinic

March 29, 2009newsArtistic Efforts, Artworks, Bikes, Bikes Parts, Car Condoms, Car Parts, Comic Relief, Condom, Emergency Shelters, Environmental Health Clinic, Fears, Graffiti, Guidance, How To Save The World, Impending Doom, Intersection, Ish, Money, Netherlands, Reassurance, Utopia

Thereâ€™s a fun exhibit that just closed in the Netherlands called How to Save the World in 10 Days. Rather than instantly transforming our planet to a heavenly glowing utopia, the festival instead presented an overview of worldwide cultural and artistic efforts to defend the planet from impending doom.

The artworks ranged from bikes made of car parts to emergency shelters, from reverse graffiti to car condoms. That last one involved actually sliding a condom over a car tailpipe, then watching it balloon up and sputter away. Worked practically for a minute, then served mostly as comic relief.

A performance that seemed to encapsulate the essence of the ish was the performance â€œEnvironmental Health Clinic.â€ The artist set up a booth in the center of a busy intersection and encouraged visitors to sit and unload their environmental concerns. She then would offer guidance, reassurance, and action tips. Environmentalism as a primary means for assuaging fears. How to Save the World was up at Vooiruit in Gent. Thanks to we make money not art.

Go to the Green Museum