I recently presented and moderated a panel for Art Place Summit 2016 The conversation was focused around craft and culinary as place making models. I had the pleasure of working with Deacon Stone of Coalfield Development Corp and Reclaim Appalachia who is doing absolutely amazing work in West Virginia Appalachia country and with Nancy Halpern Ibrahim of the Esperanza Community Development Corp and Mercado La Paloma, she is an amazing spirit doing brilliant work in South Central Los Angeles.
Craft and food along with Culture and Community creates a ripe environment for celebration. With the attendees we create cross community celebrations and had great discussions!!
Sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor places his work underneath the ocean’s surface in locations all over the world. The exhibits are beautiful and provide a place for ocean life to thrive, but the advantages of his work expand beyond the tiny organisms growing on them.
Taylor’s sculpture park “Ocean Atlas” in the Bahamas drew attention to a nearby leak at an oil refinery. The pressure from the international news media influenced the government to allocate 10 million dollars towards cleanup. His park in Granada provided a reason for the government to create a designated area where marine life is protected. Entrance fees to the park fund park rangers who manage fishing quotas and tourism.
The underwater sculpture parks are called museums to help people view the ocean as sacred. When we hold something sacred, we cherish and protect it. A museum is a place of preservation, conservation and education. It becomes a designated point of interest where people can learn about the ocean and participate in its survival.
The work of Jason deCaires Taylor is the perfect combination of art and science that is playing a pivotal role in positive changes to the environment.
Sister Corita KentCorita Kent, also known as Sister Mary Corita, gained international fame for her vibrant serigraphs during the 1960s and 1970s. A Sister of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, she ran the Art Department at Immaculate Heart College until 1968 when she left the Order and moved to Boston. Corita’s art reflects her spirituality, her commitment to social justice, her hope for peace, and her delight in the world
that takes place all around us.
Laboratory5 