Facilitate WWU Student Engagement in Regional Art and Ecology Education

Amount Awarded: $4,440.00

Academic Year: 2023-2024 

Implementation: Fall 2023

This grant supported active participation and leadership in a regional art and ecology symposium. As stated in the application, “Art and Ecology is a field that augments current institutional approaches to the study and practice of art. Interdisciplinary at its core, the growing field attracts artists, scholars, and students who are interested in ecology, social engagement, and ethical culture, by addressing such issues as the materiality of making, resource extraction, indigeneity, settler colonialism, diaspora and cultural memory, biodiversity loss, and climate change.” Numerous courses at WWU are offered within this field of study, and the program is hopefully ever-expanding. Students and faculty traveled to the University of Puget Sound to participate in “Flow: Art and Ecology in the Time of Global Warming” in November 2023. Student work was also displayed in an affiliated exhibit during the symposium, using low-waste and sustainable art practices.

This was an opportunity for students to meet and learn together with people around the region who are engaging in work that brings together art and environmental justice. Find out more about the Art & Ecology program at Western. 

Testimonials: 

“The symposium deepened students’ knowledge, nurtured their values, and inspired them in their practice of ecological art-making. It built relationships between students and faculty with a larger Pacific Northwest community of makers and scholars who share their concerns. Beyond the symposium, class workshops on sustainable art materials and practices helped student integrate what they learned with hands-on extended projects.” - grant team member