The Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA&D
522 Congress Street, Portland ME 04101
On Friday evening Mary Mattingly will kick off the weekend symposium. On Saturday, community organizations will gather in the ICA to collaborate with the sentiments and aims of the exhibition. These organizations are oriented to social justice, and their practices are part of an effort to make our City and our state more “liveable.” During the afternoon, a series of hands-on workshops will be offered to participants. Our intention is that audience members will leave with a practice or new form of knowledge that they can implement and disperse into their own environments (more details below).
The symposium is free to the public, registration is requested.
Community organizations include: Greenhorns, Bigelow Labs, Maine Youth for Climate Justice, Fresh Food Gardens, Wild Seed Project, Plant Office, Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, COBALT
522 Congress Street, Portland ME 04101
On Friday evening Mary Mattingly will kick off the weekend symposium. On Saturday, community organizations will gather in the ICA to collaborate with the sentiments and aims of the exhibition. These organizations are oriented to social justice, and their practices are part of an effort to make our City and our state more “liveable.” During the afternoon, a series of hands-on workshops will be offered to participants. Our intention is that audience members will leave with a practice or new form of knowledge that they can implement and disperse into their own environments (more details below).
The symposium is free to the public, registration is requested.
Community organizations include: Greenhorns, Bigelow Labs, Maine Youth for Climate Justice, Fresh Food Gardens, Wild Seed Project, Plant Office, Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, COBALT
Friday
November 3, 2023
5:30 – 6:30pm
Proposals
Keynote Speaker: Artist Mary Mattingly
Mary Mattingly creates work about imagined futures. She builds sculptural ecosystems that prioritize access to food, shelter, and clean water, resulting in large-scale participatory projects around the world. In 2016, she led Swale, a floating sculpture and edible landscape on a barge in New York that depended upon water common law and inspired NYC Parks to establish their first public "Foodway." Her work has been exhibited at Storm King Art Center, the International Center of Photography, the Brooklyn Museum, Palais de Tokyo, Barbican Art Gallery, and Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana.
Saturday
November 4, 2023
9:30 – 10:00am
Registration and Coffee, MECA&D Lobby
10:00 – 10:15am
Welcome and Introductions
10:15am – 12:15pm
Round Table Discussion and Q&A: how to participate in the creation of more liveable worlds through community action.
Moderator:
Sabine Malcolm, Assistant Professor and Chair of Sustainable Ecosystems in Art & Design at Maine College of Art & Design
Round Table Participants:
Severine von Tscharner Fleming, Director, Smithereen Farm/Greenhorns, and Publisher of New Farmers Almanac
Nick Record, Senior Research Scientist, Bigelow Labs; Director Tandy Center for Ocean Forecasting
Darren Ranco, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Coordinator of Native American Research, University of Maine/Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions
Roberto Rodriguez, City Councilor At-Large and owner Fresh Food Gardens, Portland, ME
Sabine Malcolm, Assistant Professor and Chair of Sustainable Ecosystems in Art & Design at Maine College of Art & Design
Round Table Participants:
Severine von Tscharner Fleming, Director, Smithereen Farm/Greenhorns, and Publisher of New Farmers Almanac
Nick Record, Senior Research Scientist, Bigelow Labs; Director Tandy Center for Ocean Forecasting
Darren Ranco, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Coordinator of Native American Research, University of Maine/Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions
Roberto Rodriguez, City Councilor At-Large and owner Fresh Food Gardens, Portland, ME
12:15 – 1:15pm
Break & Exhibition Viewing
Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA&D
1:30 – 3:30pm
Workshops
Supporting the Wild: Wild Seed Saving Initiative
Join Nell Houde of the Wild Seed Project to learn about the diverse plants growing in Maine and their unique seed sowing processes. In this workshop, Wild Seed Project will facilitate a hands-on exploration of the many steps of growing native plants from seed, and steps for establishing diverse landscapes using seed-grown plants. This class will begin with an exploration of the unique sizes, shapes, and strategies of some of our local seeds, and then transition to focus on winter seed sowing. We will talk through the best practices for keeping your seeds outside for the winter, and each participant will sow a pot of seeds to take home with them.
Foraging Beauty: Crafting Beauty from Foraged Plants
John Sundling of Plant Office leads a hike to “natural” spaces in the blocks around MECA&D, culminating in the creation of a group-built site-specific botanical sculpture. Starting with a walking discussion of the past, present, & future of the area while foraging materials, the group will then create the installation, building on personal relationships with spaces & objects, and weaving them with the shared experience of the day. Participants are encouraged to bring natural materials with personal connections to incorporate into the installation. We’ll walk several blocks outside, including on uneven and unpaved surfaces, and we won’t let a little weather stop us, so please come prepared with hats, jackets, and shoes as necessary. If you have gardening gloves and clippers, please bring them along if you choose.
Maine Youth for Climate Justice Songwriting Workshop
In this workshop, participants will explore the intersection of climate justice and art, in particular music. Art activism has historically served as a crucial pillar in social movements and the fight for climate justice is no exception. This workshop will explore examples of climate justice and how we can impact policy, public opinion, and mobilize through art. Join musicians Zak Kendall and Ben Cosgrove of Maine Youth for Climate Justice in a songwriting workshop. We will begin with a short presentation on how Youth in Maine mobilize to fight climate change and how art has impacted that movement. We will then listen to some musical pieces before we break out and work through some practices that can help us with our own climate art activism. Participants are encouraged to bring something to write with.
Team Zostera: Glenn Page, Restoration Ecologist
If the plant kingdom inspires Marvel Studios to make a Superhero movie, it would surely star the BIG Z – Zostera marina. Eelgrass, as it is commonly called, is a flowering plant that lives entirely underwater and has some stunning superpowers, and we’re lucky enough to have it right here in Casco Bay. This superhero needs our help! If there is one marine plant to know and care about, it is this one. Join this interactive workshop led by Glenn Page of the Collaborative for Bioregional Action, Learning & Transformation to learn about Team Zostera, and how to blend the arts, craft, science, story-telling, and learning journeys to inspire stewardship of one of the most productive ecosystems on earth: the beautiful eelgrass meadows beneath the coastal waters of the Gulf of Maine. This workshop might just rock your world!
3:30 – 5:00pm
Reception & Exhibition Viewing
Performance of Pamela Moulton/Posey’s Zostera sculptures in the ICA
Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA&D
Image: Mary Mattingly, Swale, 2016 - ongoing. Public project. Courtesy of Cloud Factory.