Ecoart in Action is an extensive and invaluable field guide to the ways in which the arts can raise consciousness and instigate action on ecological issues. Transformative projects are carefully laid out by an amazing group of artists and writers whose dedication to the issues goes back decades. Packed with brilliant ideas for a vast number of contexts and participants, this book is crucial to our hopes for a sustainable future.” —Lucy R. Lippard

Ecoart in Action presents possibilities for educating those who feel an urgency to address our environmental and social challenges. Defining and contextualizing the genre of ecoart through examples of practice, the book addresses fundamental questions such as: What role might art play in actualizing environmental resilience? How can we reimagine and refocus education to emphasize integrative thinking and inspire hope for our future?

Organized into three sections—Activities, Case Studies, and Provocations—Ecoart in Action stands as a field guide for teaching ecoart practice at the undergraduate and graduate levels, offering arts-based solutions to addressing critical environmental challenges.

The book also includes an extensive bibliography that identifies resources on ecoart and related subjects, demonstrating the interdisciplinary nature of ecoart practice.

You can purchase a copy here

My contribution to the book, Beyond the Pale: EcoArt pedagogy at the Burren College of Art, is a case study of the Art & Ecology Undergraduate course I developed at BCA. The module is grounded in ecocritical theory and the study of contemporary arts practice, while emphasizing an experimental and risk-taking approach to art making that embraces ecological thinking. The third project of the semester, The Materiality of Making, outlined in the book asks students to reflect on and then re imagine the how and the what of their studio practice. It prompts conversations about individual material consumption, carbon footprints, personal responsibility, and agency both within the studio and in daily life, and enables students to gain an understanding of local ecosystems and flora through direct engagement and encounters with place.

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An Urgent Enquiry