"Can Art Save the Planet?" A Symposium on Art and Planetary Health

Support for this symposium is provided by Auburn’s Office of the Vice President for Research, College of Veterinary Medicine, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences and the Louise Hauss and David Brent Miller Audubon Endowment at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art. Developed by Scott Bishop, curator of academic and public programs, Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art; Kayleigh Chalkowski, Ph.D. student, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences; and Dr. Sarah Zohdy, assistant professor, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences and College of Veterinary Medicine.

C A N A R T S AV E T H E P L A N E T ?

A Symposium on Art and Planetary Health

COVER ART: Artist Matthew Willey stands beside his rooftop mural on a barn in Lyons, Nebraska.

9 01 S OUTH COLLEG E S TR EET AUBUR N, AL ABAMA

VISIT. JOIN. SUPPORT.

@JCSMAUBUR N JCS M. AUBUR N.EDU

THURSDAY, APRIL 11 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Dear Symposium Participants,

CAN ART SAVE THE PLANET?

Welcome to the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University. We are pleased and honored to have you join us for a day of exploring art—in its many manifestations— and the transformative possibilities it holds for our lives and our planet.

A Collaborative Symposium with

You are gathered on the homelands of the Muscogee people, some of the original stewards of the land. Descended from the Mound Builders of the Mississippi River Valley, for centuries they farmed and grew a variety of crops on this soil. While many of these indigenous peoples were forcibly removed to the west during the Trail of Tears, a small tribe, known as the Poarch Band, remains to the south; and no doubt, their enduring relationship with this land, our earth, continues.

I call the Muscogee forth because I believe it is important for us to always seek to understand our place in this world within that long-standing history—just as you will seek today to understand our lives and how they affect our home on Earth, as a part of an ever-evolving continuum.

the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, and the College of Veterinary Medicine

AGENDA

8:30 a.m.

Coffee

9 a.m.

Welcome/introduction to JCSM Introduction and Planetary Health

9:30–11:30 a.m. “Can Art Save Lives?”

“Saving the World One TV Show at a Time”

We find examples of art’s connection to and impact on our health and well-being everywhere: the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has a full-time therapist on staff; Robert Rauschenberg designed the first Earth Day poster and his foundation collaborates with the Sundance Institute to support media projects focused on climate change; and the Healing Power of Art & Artists—an initiative of the Manhattan Arts International—centers artists, advocates and others to raise awareness about the healing power of art, including its influence on our environment.

Noon

Lunch (with breakout discussions)

2–4 p.m.

Afternoon panel

These are just three of innumerable institutions and organizations working to elevate this subject—just as each of you will do today. I hope you discover a renewed sense of purpose and connection to the arc of people and their creative legacy that began so long ago and needs to advance now more than ever.

4 p.m.

Sincerely,

Cynthia B. Malinick Director and Chief Curator

Scott Bishop Sarah Zohdy David Gere Kate Folb

“Design Ecology: Interventions for Global Health”

Lindsay Tan

“Disconnected: Exploring the Broken Relationship between Humankind and Nature through Sculpture”

Annie B. Campbell

“The Good of the Hive”

Matthew Willey

Reception Conservation Conversations

Matthew Willey Zach Ellis