Join us on Wednesday, September 11 at 11am-1:30pm at the rear lower-level patio of the Art and Design building to participate in a Rain Barrel Painting of the Chesapeake Bay Food Web with School of Art alumna Nadya (Bella) Steare!

George Mason Facilities donated a rainwater barrel to the School of Art for installation at the Sculpture Yard to raise awareness about stormwater management using public art. Murals at Mason commissioned a design from Nadya Steare that encompasses the estuarine food web of the Chesapeake Bay. 

Each step of the food web is unique and important to the health of the ecosystem and those who depend on it for food, clean water, and recreation. The rain barrel design will raise awareness about the (often toxic) contents of stormwater runoff into the Chesapeake Bay and the animals that are affected. 

Mason Exhibitions has partnered with the DC Department of Energy and Environment (DC DOEE) and City as Living Laboratory (CALL) to raise awareness about flooding in the Anacostia neighborhoods of Oxon Run and Watts Branch. 

Join artists Cary Michael Robinson and Nicole Salimbene, along with environmental scientists and community organizers, for a day of walking, talking, and making along Watts Branch & Oxon Run streams and neighborhoods. This event is an invitation to honor the power of water through creative expression, and to learn more about flood risks and mitigation programs/actions to protect the community and the surrounding waterways in Ward 7 and Ward 8.

**Please note, this is a two part event. When registering, please indicate if you are interested in joining part 1, 2, or both**

RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/respecting-water-through-art-storytelling-flood-risk-awareness-tickets-643902659187

Date: Saturday, June 24th, 2023 (Rain date: Sunday, June 25th)

Part 1: 11am-1pm // Rising Waters: Talk, Walk & Weave

Meeting Point: 4801 Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave NE, Watts Branch

We will start the walk in the Watts Branch neighborhood to gain an understanding of houses within the floodplain and end the walk in Marvin Gaye Park where the Watts Branch Creek runs. Participants will be invited to share stories and observations of nature, the neighborhoods, equity and environmental justice. Scientists and organizers will share information about flood risk management and flood mitigation programs currently available for residents. The artists will weave together imagery and stories to visualize these issues for greater awareness and lead the group in a collective art action.

Part 2: 2pm-4pm // Cooling Waters: Gather, Reflect & Rest

Meeting Point: James E. Bunn Amphitheater, Oxon Run Park

We will meet in Oxon Run Park to focus on the relational, reflective and restful aspects of gathering together in nature, as we continue to share and integrate what we are learning about flooding in the area. Artists, scientists and community organizers will create a collaborative action with the group that holds space for honoring the power of water.

Walk Leaders:

Dr. Alsean Bryant, Strategic Support Team Clinical Pharmacist at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation for the DC, MD, and VA region

Dr. Travis Gallo, Assistant Professor in Urban Ecology and Conservation in the Department of Environmental Science and Technology at the University of Maryland

Brenda Richardson, Coordinator for the Anacostia Parks & Community Collaborative (APACC) & Vice-Chair of the Friends of Oxon Run Park

Cary Michael Robinson, Interdisciplinary and Mixed Media Artist

Nicole Salimbene, Interdisciplinary Artist

Dr. Jennifer Sklarew, Assistant Professor, Energy and Sustainability Policy, Food-Energy-Water-Climate Nexus, Social Science, George Mason University

Join us on Wednesday, March 8 in Gillespie Gallery of the Art and Design building to make your own native seed-bombs! Seed bombs are often used to protest neglected green spaces and promote the growth of pollinator-friendly flowers. The workshop will begin with an intention-setting meditation, a brief presentation on the origin of seed-bombs, and hands-on making of seed-bombs.

Workshops will be held in one-hour blocks beginning at 1:30pm and ending at 6:30pm. Please RSVP to select your time.

RSVP: https://app.e2ma.net/app2/audience/signup/1980528/1912535/

About the Artist: Naoco Wowsugi is one of 22 woman artists in the Cast/Recast exhibition. Her cross-disciplinary and community-engaged art projects range from portrait photography, participatory performance to horticulture, highlighting and fortifying everyday communal and interpersonal identities. Her art practice blurs the lines between being an artist and an engaged citizen.

Naoco’s Inspiration and Related Resources:

Masanobu Fukuoka (https://f-masanobu.jp/about-masanobu-fukuoka/)

• The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming

• Sowing Seeds in the Desert: Natural Farming, Global Restoration, and Ultimate Food Security

Documentary: 

• Final Straw: Food, Earth, Happiness by Patrick M. Lydon and Suhee Kang.

Influence: 

• Permaculture: A Designers' Manual Book by Bill Mollison

• My Neighbor Totoro by Hayao Miyazaki 

References: 

• Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

• Capital in the Anthropocene by Kohei Saito

• Green Guerillas (https://www.greenguerillas.org/) Youtube Video about them: How radical gardeners took back New York City (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g2CaF12xxw)