ArtServe, a non-profit that supports artists committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, is promoting environmental awareness and sustainable practices with its latest exhibition, Changing Landscapes: Art Interventions for a Planet in Crisis. On display from April 9 to May 27, the multimedia exhibition presents ecologically thematic works and performances that explore threats to the Florida Everglades, Lake Okeechobee and the surrounding seas.
“Through engagements and programming, we’re celebrating climate solutions and ecological sustainability initiatives,” said ArtServe Executive Director Craig W. Johnson. “This is a multimedia exhibition that promotes environmental awareness and sustainable practices and invites us to join the movement of change, to reflect with optimism and to flow in balance with nature, the environment and the beings that inhabit it.”
Curated by ArtServe Chief Curator Sophie Bonet, and just in time for Earth Day on April 22, Changing Landscapes highlights and brings awareness to the human impact on South Florida’s fragile ecosystem. Featured artists and collaborators include Before it’s Too Late, Lizzy Taber, Cheryl Maeder, 1,000 Mermaids and Sibel Kocabasi, among others.
Changing Landscapes kicks off with a VIP reception on Saturday, April 11 from 6 to 9 p.m. at ArtServe, 1350 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. The reception includes an open wine bar, passed appetizers, exclusive performance pieces and tours of ArtServe’s creative laboratory, where artists experiment with concepts tied to social impact. During the reception, ArtServe will also award its Broward County Arts & Culture Visionary distinction to local leaders and ‘green’ influencers. Tickets are $25 per person and are available for purchase at www.artserve.org.
For a family-friendly art outing, ArtServe is hosting its Changing Landscapes community reception on Saturday, April 25 from to 3 to 5 p.m. Tickets are $10 each and include pizza, punch and art activities. Admission is free for members and children 12 and under. Tickets are available for purchase at www.artserve.org.
Included in Changing Landscapes are: creative works that highlight and bring awareness to the Florida Everglades juxtaposed against performing and visual art works that ask audiences to consider the needs of our global environment and its inhabitants; reading, video and listening stations located throughout the exhibition that will provide participants with facts, insights and actionable items that cultivate knowledge and individual participation in areas of conservation, climate protection, sustainability and environmental advocacy; and a fully realized performance during select exhibition days that brings together the visual and performing arts to take audiences on journey through the Florida Everglades.
Also included is Project Color Hive, an immersive, multisensory installation created by artists Nicole Gallucio and Ashleigh Walters in collaboration with ArtHive Creative and Capital One®. Project Color Hive is a traveling, vibrantly painted ‘greenhouse’ that guests can enter to learn more about the importance of protecting pollinators.
Furthermore, with the support of a $15,000 grant from PNC Arts Alive, Changing Landscapes will welcome approximately 1,000 third-grade students from Broward County Title I public schools to ArtServe, where they will experience the exhibition and learn about environmental stewardship during field trips.
Admission to the ongoing visual art exhibition is free and does not include performances. ArtServe gallery hours are Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visit artserve.org for details.
For more information about Changing Landscapes and ArtServe, visit www.artserve.org.