The Corvallis Arts Center, located at 700 SW Madison Avenue, invites the public to a collaborative exhibit to communicate hope around climate change issues through the arts. The exhibit was initiated by Dr. Dominique Bachelet, a climate scientist at Oregon State University who has coordinated a series of lectures by researchers emphasizing the resilience of nature despite human destructive activities.
These scientific presentations are meant to inspire artists to communicate climate change through their work in order to inspire people to spring from despair into positive action. The Advocate spoke to Dr. Bachelet, who told us more about her mission.
Bachelet said that more than half of young people aged 16-25 “find the future frightening. It is imperative that scientists and the media who interpret scientific results with mixed results stop telling doom and gloom stories and start focusing on positive stories, the resilience of nature, its ability to adapt, the opportunities we have to change our ways and start adapting to change, the success stories around the world of people promoting a more sustainable way to share the earth’s resources.”
She added, “Artists can address people’s emotions by showing the beauty and resilience of plants and wildlife spurring much–needed efforts to reduce the constraints we have created impeding Nature’s way to adapt. If we can put someone on the moon, you could think we make an effort to embrace change and ensure a bright future for the generations to come.”
According to The Arts Center’s webpage, “artworks for the exhibit were selected by artist-scientists Dr. Jerri Bartholomew (microbiology) and Dr. Dominique Bachelet (climate science), and The Arts Center’s Curator Hester Coucke, from a Call to Artists that specified requests for optimistic works about nature’s resilience. Selected artists have used their artwork to tell stories of climate science, change and adaptation, as well as the need for hope and action to mitigate the human-caused effects of climate change.”
The lecture on Climate Change Represented in the Arts by Dr. Bachelet has been recorded and is available to view on YouTube.
The exhibit “What Will Nature Do?” will be open Sept. 30 to Nov. 13, with a reception on Oct. 14 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. The Art for Lunch Talk will take place on Thursday, Oct. 21, at noon; a Special Panel Discussion on the following Thursday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. will accompany the visual arts. Due to changing distancing policies, the Art Center will reevaluate if the reception can take place closer to its scheduled date.
This exhibit is part of the series A Year of Artivism.
By Joanna Rosińska
Do you have a story for The Advocate? Email editor@corvallisadvocate.com