Art, Ecology and Collective Practices Altered States Symposium

The University of Kentucky College of Design, in partnership with Great Meadows Foundation, will host "Altered States: Art, Ecology, and Collective Practices," a symposium on collaborative environmental and community-based art, Sept. 18 at the Gray Design Building. Through a series of guest presentations, participants will explore how artists work together to respond to issues tied to the environment, land use, natural resources and extraction. The symposium will also consider how shared creative work can offer new ways to make, show and support art. 

The symposium brings together Kentucky-based and internationally recognized artists whose work spans natural dye cultivation, sustainable materials, environmental stewardship, urban design and community-engaged artmaking. 

Artist talks on Friday, Sept. 18 are free and open to the public, and will take place in the Biagi Forum in the Gray Design Building.

Friday, September 18 Speaker Schedule

Mel Chin | 1:15–2 p.m.
A MacArthur Fellow, Hiroshima Art Prize winner and internationally recognized conceptual artist, Chin’s wide-ranging practice explores politics, ecology, mapping, surrealism and other themes. Many of his projects bring together art, science and community action to address environmental and social concerns. 

April Bojorquez and Matt Garcia  | 2–2:45 p.m.
Co-founders of DesertArtLAB, a Colorado-based environmental arts collaborative whose work spans topics such as Indigenous and Chicano ecological practices, food sovereignty, desert ecology and community-based land restoration. 

Daniel Feinberg | 3–3:45 p.m.
An artist, educator and associate professor at Berea College who uses plants and design to explore how paved surfaces affect water, heat and land. 

Emmanuel Pratt | 3:45–4:30 p.m.
A MacArthur Fellow and co-founder of the Sweet Water Foundation, a nonprofit that uses design, urban ecology, education and community building to turn vacant spaces into places that support people and neighborhoods. 

Panel with all artists | 4:45–5:30 p.m.

The program also includes smaller invitation-only events on Saturday, Sept. 19, including an artist meet-and-greet, facilities tours, a natural dye workshop and a community art event. Workshop and tour leaders include: 

Crystal Gregory and Jessamine Michler
Artists and collaborators behind The Dye Garden at The Arboretum, where they grow plants for natural dye work and textile research. 

Hannah Smith
Fabrication lab specialist and educator in the UK School of Art and Visual Studies who teaches students to use safer recycled and biodegradable materials, including bioplastics made from seaweed, plant fibers and food waste. 

This event is sponsored by Great Meadows Foundation, a Kentucky-based foundation supporting visual artists and arts professionals, with additional funding from the Husk Fund, a philanthropic organization focused on Kentucky’s creative and natural landscape. The symposium is part of the inaugural Great Meadows Foundation Symposium Series, a new annual initiative bringing four contemporary art gatherings to regions across Kentucky, and is organized by committee members from 2nd Story, Georgetown College, the UK Art Museum, the UK School of Architecture and the UK School of Art and Visual Studies.