on converting a spruce plantation into a forest & other projects that inspire, by Cathy Fitzgerald
From the category archives:
The Ten Commandments (2007) ‘What is new about this? I say; nothing really, except underlining that environment is a question of morality. Humanity in our time, should be expressed in our relationship with nature and our environment. Concerning the survival of mankind, it is the most acute moral battle we must [...]
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One of the biggest problems in trying to engage people about climate change is that it’s a very abstract idea. Apart from all the controversy at the moment that is distracting attention and understanding from the very worrying facts gathered by thousands of the world’s leading scientists, it still remains very far removed from people’s [...]
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A Hard Rains Gonna Fall -’It was a song of desperation. What could we do? Could we control the men who were on the verge of wiping us out. The words came fast – very fast. It was a song of terror. Line after line, trying to capture the feeling of nothingness.’ Bob Dylan. (Image [...]
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Please, pour yourself a cup of tea and join us . . .
We are out in the streets promoting peace, justice, social and economic equality through song and humour
Just a little something for International Women’s day later this week (8 March), a bit of music from the Canada-led 15 year plus phenomenon, the now International [...]
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Another Place’ (2007)- ‘there is a strong connection between the desire for survival and the art of a people and a time. We have a task in hand. Culture in the developed western world has always positioned itself in distinction to nature: now we have to discover our nature within nature.’
‘But it is also my [...]
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24 Feb 10: Update, here’s my story on creative climate
I was fortunate to meet Dr. Joe Smith and one of his post graduate students at Copenhagen. They work for the Open University in the UK and Joe has created a 10 year project to collect all our stories about working to help the environment, to [...]
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Above: Key cultural organisations present at the inaugural Culture|Futures Conference at COP15: National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen, 2009
Update: new 2010 British Council Document on Art & Climate Change : includes Cultural Policy & Regulatory Guidelines, see end of post
Finally completed this article on my visit to the first international culture and climate change [...]
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Giant Kelp Spiral -land art by Alan Price (2009)
‘I am neither an artist or an ecologist but I have imagination and am interested in how things are linked in natural systems. The attached photo might sum it up!! Giant kelp washed up on a beach in Northern California – I just [...]
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Above: Cecil Rangendra reading at Culture | Futures 2009
The lines in the heading are a quote from an amazingly heartfelt poem Requiem for a Rainforest by celebrated Malaysian poet/lawyer, Cecil Rajendra. Cecil read it during the keynote presentations at the first Culture |Futures Symposium at the UN Climate summit, Cop15.
I went up to him [...]
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Above: Martin lighting one of the lanterns
I’ve been back a few days from Copenhagen and the Cultures | Futures symposium. It was a great experience to be in one place with so many different perspectives on how the cultural communities / practitioners / arts councils and international arts bodies from around the world are joining [...]
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follow me on twitter/ecoartnotes
My art & ecology notebook documents a SLOW ART project. It's an ongoing diary in images, short films; conversations between myself, foresters, our local community & beyond, detailing an example of how we are turning our small monoculture spruce plantation into an ecologically & economically, permanent real FOREST.
I am also interested in using film to convey personal stories of small backyard environmental actions in response to global ecological concerns. I am developing a personal, poetic narrative film-making style, that while documentary in certain aspects, allows a larger range of ideas and emotions to be presented, in contrast to standard nature documentaries.
My project 'the Holly Wood Diaries'has allowed me to create two experimental film sketches, 'burning bright' (08) and 'once i counted birds' (09) and builds on previous stories with beginner foresters and their young trees/new woodlands in the more traditionally styled documentary film 'the local project revisited', 2006
I also write about other eco-art works that inspire me & which may be inspire others.
rsa art & ecology blog Nils L. Elliot: Mediating Nature
