DUST TO DIVERSITY by Tammy West, photo credit Tammy West.
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Welcome to Spring, and Earth Day 2022: Invest In Our Planet. It is a call to invest in our soil, water, air, and in racial & social equity & justice. The current global political situation highlights the enormous loss of resources and devastation caused by wars and the need to shift our investment priorities and focus. It is a call for artists to further implement equitable art investments and partnerships with our green planet.
Margaret Mead reminded us, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world.” Artists create change, one act at a time.
WEAD offers several art actions this month: a Call to submit an article to Magazine Issue 14 on the Politics of Empathy; a Call for the membership exhibition, "Art through Action: Restoration and Regeneration" at the Bioneers conference A Way Through; and an Art+Activism presentation by Amara Geffen “Celebrating the Local: 25 Years of Placemaking in Northwest Pennsylvania”.
We invite you to strengthen and stretch your body, mind, and heart with special art acts to honor our planet.
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ART CALL FOR BIONEERS - DUE APRIL 22
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"Art through Action: Restoration and Regeneration"
WEAD will be presenting an exhibition from May 13-15 at the 2022 Bioneers conference "A Window Through", in San Francisco at the Palace of Fine Arts.
We invite all WEAD members to submit up to two images for the three day Conference exhibition. Members may also invite one friend to submit. There is no entry fee. Submissions will be juried.
ABOUT OUR THEME: WEAD's theme of "Art through Action: Restoration and Regeneration" invites submissions that have to do with the restoration of environmental or social ecosystems. We are looking for works that propose solutions, that are action oriented. How do we re-generate the world we would like to live in, a world that works for all other beings as well?
PROPOSAL SPECIFICATIONS
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Work must be related to the theme
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Image shall be no larger than 12" on any side, with maximum 1" border
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Send proposal email to etwead@gmail.com
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Subject line: Bioneers_last name_first name
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Include up to two jpeg high definition images (3Mb maximum) each labeled last name_first name_bioneers
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Include a separate Word doc statement with your name, title of piece, material, plus 200 word or less description of the intention for each piece. Please use Helvetica Sans Serif font
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Provide contact info: name, address, phone, email address
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Email must be received by midnight April 22
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No fee to apply
ACCEPTED WORK
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Notification of acceptance April 29
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Images to be printed on brochure or photo paper
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Images must be no larger than 12" on any side. Add 1" maximum border to accommodate pushpins.
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Original works will also be received if no larger than 12" on any side, but cannot be returned.
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Original work no thicker than 1"--if other than printed on paper it must have its own hanging system on the back.
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Mail or hand deliver to WEAD c/o Mary White in Berkeley--address will be included in acceptance email.
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Must be received by May 9
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Pieces will not be returned
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MAGAZINE CALL FOR PROPOSALS
DUE MAY 2nd
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WEAD Magazine Issue No. 13
The Politics of Empathy
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Trees and PLEIN AIR, Reiko Goto & Tim Collins, installation on the Peacock Gallery
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WEAD invites submissions from artists, critics, art historians, feminist thinkers, and relevant writers to address a range of issues from multi-species empathy to climate-change apathy.
We seek essays revealing the strategies of artists who employ the empathetic approach to all living things, inclusive of humans and non-humans, sharing affinity with communities of living organisms. On the other end of the spectrum, we also want to learn about artists who have challenged, resisted, and exposed the apathy of non-action and environmental destruction.
The aim of this special issue is to expand our comprehension, and emphasize the critical need for Politics of Empathy in view of the precariousness of all life in this climate generation.
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CELEBRATING THE LOCAL-- image credits: upper left Bill Owen; lower left Jeremy Hoople; center map Amara Geffen; VennDiagram on map Amara Geffen, Ann Rosenthal, Chris Fremantle, Aviva Rahmani; upper right New Village Press (book cover); lower right Amara Geffen
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ART + ACTIVISM No. 10: AMARA GEFFEN
Celebrating the Local: 25 years of Placemaking in NW PA
SUNDAY APRIL 24
5-6:30 PM PDT, 8-9:30 EDT
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Amara will share her experience working with three communities over a 25 year period. Her Art & Environment Initiative (A&EI) founded in 1997 facilitates community-centered and environmentally-focused public art projects. Since 1997, 24 projects have been completed many constituting a Public Art Trail through Meadville, PA. Amara will share how project sites are identified and the processes and collaborations needed to transform each site. Her presentation will also address strategies to secure necessary funding ($0 - $750,000 range) including: how to leverage community volunteers; fundraising options; and securing grants.
By engaging local communities in the creation and beautification of public spaces those communities can be transformed. Through the leveraging of local social and creative capital, artists can facilitate and strengthen community capacity in a celebration of the local.
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SEED BANK by Tammy West, photo credit Valerie Chaussonnet --Who knows where these red mountain laurel seeds will end up sprouting a tree downstream when the creek rises?
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“Reverence of the natural world rules my work, striving to connect people, often through emotion, to the degradation and wonder of our planet while providing an energetic deep breath directly into addressing the solution and encouraging stewardship and conservation. This can take many forms, site specific environmental art, ecological earthworks, mixed media and sculptural works and photography. Letting land and culture lead the way, I am currently inspired by the issues and solutions of climate change, species decline and ecological restoration."
DUST TO DIVERSITY: “This installation helps to artfully restore an old dusty dirt road back to a thriving Texas prairie ecosystem, using a variety of native grass seed. As it re-seeds and expands it will eventually become a natural part of the prairie while increasing ecological diversity, decreasing erosion and providing habitat and food for wildlife."
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RESTORATION AND REGENERATION
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MURAL IN GAVIOTAS MEETING HALL, unsigned, photo credit Luis Camargo
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LAS GAVIOTAS: Regenerating Rainforest
without even trying– “create the right conditions and they will come”
In Colombia, scientists and engineers were challenged to start a community on the desolate savannah (llanos) east of the Andes– ”Las Gaviotas” –with sun, wind, water, and grass as their only resources. The one thing that would grow was a Caribbean pine which they planted with mycorrhizal fungi. Later they discovered they could tap the tree’s sap, process it into colophon, and generate income for the community.
The pine forest infiltrated rainwater, creating a pure freshwater aquifer beneath. Gaviotas bottled this water to share with indigenous and other neighbors who suffered from the usual diseases of contaminated surface water. Gaviotas’ bottles were uniquely designed with protrusions+indentations for a second life as children’s building block toys.
The combination of pines, fungi, and understory plants created humus and raised the PH of the soil. Gradually over 210 species of Amazonian rainforest vegetation appeared among the pines–from seeds dropped by birds or perhaps from dormant seeds of a long-ago forest. As the new rainforest takes over the 20,000 acre pine forest, more pines are being planted across the llanos. African palms have been added to the mix, providing biodiesel for Gaviotas’ vehicles.
Paulo Lugari, the founder of Gaviotas, envisions 6 million acres of savannah dotted with eco-villages, each planting a forest of pines, oil palms and rubber trees– leaving regenerated rainforest in its wake, and generating enough biodiesel to fuel the nation’s vehicles.
Paolo likes to quip: ”If you aren’t dreaming you must be asleep.”
For a succinct description.
For images.
For a poetic telling of the story see Alan Weisman’s “Gaviotas, A Village to Reinvent the World”
For academics writing for WorldWatch see “Las Gaviotas: Sustainability in the Tropics”
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GAVIOTAS VILLAGE AND REGENERATED RAINFOREST FROM THE AIR photo credit Gunter Pauli
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FEATURED WEAD BOARD MEMBER
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LUCHANG WANG, SALT LAKE CITY, 2020, photo credit Yuchun LiuI
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Luchang Wang, (she/her) joined WEAD as Treasurer in November 2021. She works full time as a Senior Financial Analyst and CPA and wanted to contribute her spare time to the cause of social justice and environmentalism. Her current responsibilities at WEAD include monthly financial reporting, financial budgeting, payroll, and tax filings.
Luchang grew up in Beijing, China and moved to the US to pursue higher education. After graduating from college and graduate school, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where she worked in various finance roles. When she is not working, Luchang enjoys dancing, snowboarding, surfing and hiking. Before the pandemic, she also loved traveling and visiting museums in different countries. Her most recent hobby is playing with her seven-month-old puppy, Turbo. WEAD thanks Luchang for contributing her exceptional expertise!
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WEAD Board is seeking
New volunteer web mistress
New Board member Website Committee: Wordpress/web skills
New Board member Membership Committee: social media skills and interest in
engaging with our Membership
Board members: Two year term. Zoom Board meetings bimonthly, last Sunday of the
month 3-5 pm pst.
Send inquiries to info@weadartists.org
Members: Do you know a good venue for WEAD to have a collaborative exhibit in your region?
If so, let us know! info@weadartists.org
Suggest a theme for our 2022 membership exhibition.
Join WEAD Exhibitions Committee. Participate in curating and all aspects of creating an exhibition. Zoom meetings.
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Exciting news. Some WEAD members have contributed to Ecoart in Action: Activities, Case Studies, and Provocations for Classrooms and Communities, edited by Amara Geffen, Ann Rosenthal, Chris Fermantle, and Aviva Rahmani.
Newly published by New Village Press and compiled from 67 members of the Ecoart Network, a group of more than 200 internationally established practitioners, EcoArt in Action stands as a field guide that offers practical solutions to critical environmental challenges. Organized into three sections—Activities, Case Studies, and Provocations—each contribution provides models for ecoart practice that are adaptable for use within a variety of classrooms, communities, and contexts.
Share your events at Info@weadartists.org
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Thank you for your continuing support of WEAD. We have ambitious goals for 2022: continuing our well received on-line presentations, upgrading our digital Artists Directory and invaluable archives, and encouraging new member engagement and global conversations. There are plans afoot for an international student eco art summit. Join in the fun and build community!
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Browse through 400+ WEAD Artists at: www.weadartists.org
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