March 22, 2012

Greetings!  

It's World Water Week, and time to reflect upon the value and our uses of this critical resource. We're blessed with a wealth of clean water in Vancouver, but the waste, pollution and infilling of our nearby wetlands, streams, rivers and ocean have dramatically altered our landscape and its other inhabitants. Art can play a vital role in shaping public opinion about how we approach and treat our environment. This week, think of some way that you might use your creativity to create dialogue on the use of our watersheds!

One way that we may all consider our relationship to surrounding bodies of water is through an activity on False Creek in next week's Eco Art Salon. Guided by the Behind Open Doors Art Collective (BODAC), we will have the opportunity to experience this familiar watercourse in ways we have never imagined. 

 The 2012 Eco Art Salon series has had great momentum since January's Occupy Environmental Art discussion, and this month's meeting will not disappoint!

Eco Arts Co-Chair, March Eco Arts Salon Coordinator 

Eco Musings 

As an artist who is also an active environmentalist and advocate, I am very interested in the different approaches that can be taken to bridging the two disciplines. On one of my afternoon walks I came across a hidden gem in Vancouver that took a unique approach such as this, something worth sharing during World Water Week.

Just across the street from the 29th Avenue Skytrain Station in East Vancouver is the Renfrew Ravine Park. For anyone who is familiar with the history of Vancouver's landscape, it will come as a delight to know that in this park is a surprisingly natural creek: one of the last remaining creeks in Vancouver. While Still Creek (headwaters to the Brunette watershed) has not held Salmon since the 1940s, the city and surrounding community has worked to protect it since 1997. Walkways have been strategically carved out of the forested area that acts as a buffer against the trash that was once dumped into this sensitive ecosystem. If you wander through the park, you'll find several public art projects that make us aware of the importance of this watershed. There are Cobb benches, beautiful stone mosaics and mazes, and signage made by local schoolchildren. All of these public artworks make us more attentive to the care that should be taken when treading on these important grounds. Now the area is host to a variety of community events, many of them hosted by the Still Moon Arts Society.

It is amazing how much power communities have when they come together for a common cause. I have also recently witnessed this when attending a meeting in my own community of Mount Pleasant over the proposed project of a man who would like to restore a small pond near False Creek which represents the last remnants of the old Brewery Creek. Jason Morden, the community member who has designed this project is keen to involve local artists and community members in his proposal to the city as he understands the value that cultural practice brings to our understanding of the environment. To find out more about his project, see my blog entry.

~ Eryne Donahue

March Eco Art Salon: 

Behind Open Doors Art Collective

A Recap On February's Salon

I'd seen Bruce Voyce's eagle in Burnaby - probably a hundred times. 

I liked it. I like it even more that I know that there are plants growing on its wings.

Bruce was our Eco-Arts presenter for February and spoke passionately and eloquently about his choice of materials (loves steel) and process (happy to do the art and let others decide on plantings).

He brought with him dragon costumes made from large water bottles that were otherwise headed (at best) to China for recycling. And we got to use aviator snips to make plant pots from pop bottles.

My pea seeds have sprouted to about 3" and are going strong!

~ Mary Bennett

Bounded by the Straight of Georgia, False Creek and the Fraser River, water is in our sights often, but thought of very little. This week, take the opportunity to participate in water-related events and hear what some of our artists and writers have to share about our water and its ties to culture. Downstream: A Poetics of Water is a research-creation project with water at the heart of it all. Take a look at the upcoming events that form this project, listed below.

Bodies of Water Dance Performance

Don't miss out on an evening of dance, creativity, music, and imagining presented by Seonagh Odhiambo and Asava Dance.The Bodies of Water project draws inspiration from movement and stories of people across diverse shores and rivers.Karolle Wall and Florence James (Puneluxulth') also offer insight through a short film, 'imush q'uyatl'un, that helped inspire some of the dance movement. Odhiambo will lead audience members in an optional movement workshop with her dancer-collaborators. 

Wednesday, March 21 7-9 PM

Roundhouse Community Centre

World Water Night

An evening of sharing with some of our most talented artists dealing with the environment and First Nations culture. Readings will be given by Lee Maracle, one of Canada's most prolific aboriginal writers, & Michael Blackstock, a published poet and UNESCO expert advisor on water and cultural diversity. A film screening of Samaqan: Water Stories, with Director Jeff Bear.

Thursday, March 22, 7 PM. 

ECUAD campus, South Building, Rm 301 

Feature Eco-Arts Volunteer

Sarah St. John

Farewell to our Eco Arts Co-Chair

Sarah St. John came to the Community Arts Council as a four month co-op student from SFU. She was hired as our Communications Coordinator but quickly took on one hundred other responsibilities! From September (2011) to February (2012), Sarah successfully co-chaired the Eco-Arts Group and coordinated our Eco-Arts Salons. 

Sarah is now leaving the Eco Arts Initiative as BC's newest Rhodes scholar, the coveted graduate award that has been received by only three other students from Simon Fraser University. She will take this to Oxford University where she will be applying her drive and skills to a Master's Degree in Public Policy.

In a media release, Sarah spoke of her goals: "I love learning about how global, national and local policies affect the ability of communities to address environmental, social and economic determinants of health and well-being. In today's world, policy makers and politicians need to come together, regardless of their ideological ties, to solve significant global challenges, including climate change and global inequity."

The board, volunteers and staff wish Sarah all the best in her future education and travels.