On Saturday, February 3, 2024, The Block welcomed an audience of over 300 to celebrate the opening of the exhibition Actions for the Earth: Art, Care, & Ecology.
Consulting curator Stephanie Smith introduced audiences to the exhibition with an audio excerpt from Katie West’s meditative installation Clearing on view in The Block’s Alsdorf Gallery.
“It’s based in the artist’s practice of walking this landscape that she’s so deeply connected to in Western Australia, and gathering organic materials, gathering earth, using that to dye the fabric that forms the canopy that is suspended overhead, and also the cushions that visitors are invited to sit upon,” Smith said.
“So many of the works in the exhibition have a kind of gentle spirit, and they invite care for the Earth in part by asking visitors to slow down, and to pay close attention to how we relate to the land, and also to interconnections among human and non-human entities.”
Watch – Opening Conversation: Actions for the Earth
After introducing the audience to a number of the exhibition artworks, Smith moderated an interdisciplinary conversation including Dekila Chungyalpa, Director of the Loka Initiative, Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Teresa Montoya, Artist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago. A fourth participant, environmental social scientist Kimberly Marion Suiseeya, was scheduled to be present, but could not attend due to illness.
The discussion covered topics such as the relationship with land, the role of art in addressing environmental issues, the importance of joy and resilience in the face of environmental crises, and the need for critical thinking and action in response to the climate crisis. The panelists also shared their personal experiences and practices related to caring for the Earth and their communities.
The event concluded with a meditation led by Dekila Chungyalpa, focusing on grounding, gratitude, and the exchange of emotions with the Earth. The discussion and meditation highlighted the interconnectedness of all life and the importance of caring for the Earth and each other.
Actions for the Earth brings together work by an intergenerational, transnational group of artists who use strategies of kinship, healing, and restorative intervention to foster a deeper and more urgent awareness of our interconnectedness with the earth. The exhibition is on view through July 7, 2024.
“Art forces us to imagine new things. The fundamental responsibility of art is forcing us to imagine new things. …What happens if maybe instead of it just being people like me who studied the environment or who did public policy, what if it’s the artists who are asked to imagine, what does de-growth look like? What is a world of de-growth, so that all life can exist and flourish?”
Dekila Chungyalpa, Director of the Loka Initiative,
“I think being in a museum space allows you to give yourself permission to slow down. And for those of us who like camping or hiking or being outdoors, it’s hard to do that when you’re in an urban environment. But perhaps for people who live in a city, going to a museum is a place where you’re allowed to do that, and you don’t have to feel guilty that you’re slowing down, and that you’re considering your relationship to place.”
– Teresa Montoya, Artist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago
Images from the Opening
