Remediation Project

Creative environmental remediation

This post comes to you from EcoArtScotland

ecoartscotland received the following email from Ilka Nelson in Australia,

I am now writing to … ask if you know of a project I could work on as part of my Masters research programme? I have attached a pdf which has the project requirements and a snapshot of my background/area of interest. I’m prepared to travel to the right place, am self funded and am very very interested to engage with a creative remediation project but would love to hear of any idea this email ignites

Loosely, my Masters study launches from the premise that a state of ecocide is already upon us and that our global environmental crisis is underpinned by cultural roots which can be understood in part, as a crisis of vision. The aim of the research is to apply ecological thinking to these crises to identify what tools facilitate culture-nature connection and where these tools activate new narratives/imaginings/visions for an ecologically responsive paradigm.

The Last Tree website (www.thelasttree.net) is a good reference for my work. If you have questions please email or call +61266803263 (I’m in Sydney timezone). From this Friday (1st July) I’ll be outback for the next 2 weeks without phone/email so please be patient for my reply. I aim to make all arrangements for this project late July as I’d like the placement to commence mid-late August.

The Masters forms part of the Remnant/Emergency Art Lab.

This is being posted in the hope that someone within the network will be interested in working with Ilka Nelson.  Please contact directly.

ecoartscotland is a resource focused on art and ecology for artists, curators, critics, commissioners as well as scientists and policy makers. It includes ecoartscotland papers, a mix of discussions of works by artists and critical theoretical texts, and serves as a curatorial platform.

It has been established by Chris Fremantle, producer and research associate with On The Edge Research, Gray’s School of Art, The Robert Gordon University. Fremantle is a member of a number of international networks of artists, curators and others focused on art and ecology.
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SMMoA Pairing Art & Social Action

The Santa Monica Museum of Art will be hosting two remarkable events this month which pair art making with social action.  Taking place this Thursday, June 3, artist Mel Chin will be will make a special visit to SMMoA and participate in one of our signature programs, A Collection of Ideas…, to discuss his projects Operation Paydirt and The Fundred Dollar Bill Project.  Over the past several years Chin has brought national attention to the serious issue of high lead content in water, particularly in New Orleans, through the collaboration of hundreds of thousands of art participants across the US (more information below). Next Saturday, June 12, SMMoA will also be dedicating our quarterly education workshop Cause for Creativity to Chin’s vision. In this workshop participants will have the opportunity to create their own Fundred Dollar Bills and become part of this country-wide collaborative art project.

Thursday, June 3, 7 pm
A Collection of Ideas… 
Mel Chin: So I guess it has to be this way… Refraction, response to crisis, reframing a few dreams, and more on the delivery of a 300 million dollar difference
 
In 2006, artist Mel Chin was profoundly affected by post-Katrina New Orleans and developed, alongside scientists, an initiative called Operation Paydirt to help remediate the alarming levels of lead content in the soil there. The estimated cost of treating New Orleans soil is $300,000,000. Chin will discuss the Fundred Dollar Bill Project which supports Operation Paydirt through contemporary art, engagement, and action. TheFundred Dollar Bill Project is a way to become involved in monumental advocacy to inspire and enact change through a process of collecting hand-drawn Fundreds – $100 bill templates that allow for personal expression. Chin needs 3 million Fundreds by July 2010 when he will go to the steps of Congress and ask for $300 million to fund the soil remediation project in New Orleans and ultimately in all major U.S. cities. SMMoA will host its own Fundred Dollar Bill Drawing Party on Saturday, June 12 (see below)


                   

Saturday, June 12, 2-5 pm
Cause for Creativity: Fundred Dollar Bill Drawing Party
 
In collaboration with artist Mel Chin’s Fundred Dollar Bill Project, described above, participants will hand-draw Fundreds that will be collected and presented to Congress as a unique testament of civic engagement through art. Joining us at Cause for Creativity is Daybreak Designs – an arts and crafts business which empowers homeless women recovering from mental illness to rebuild their lives through creative, personal and financial growth. Daybreak Designs will have lovely hand-made goods for sale during the Fundred Dollar Drawing Party. 

Coolhaus ice cream sandwiches van on site

FREE
RSVP: rsvp@smmoa.org or 310.586.6488 x125