[OKC] Art, Education Exhibit Explores Sustainability in Oklahoma City

[Shauna Struby]

Rethink: Recycle: Redesign Opens April 18 at IAO

Art, Education Exhibit Explores

Sustainability in Oklahoma City

 

A network of progressive Oklahoma City artists, professionals, and
businesses are joining forces for an Earth Day event that encourages
Oklahomans to take a fresh look at their ecological footprint.

The juried exhibit Rethink: Recycle: Redesign incorporates art, geospatial
mapping, local foods, and green design to promote creative approaches to
environmental awareness.

Sustainable OKC organized the event in partnership with Individual Artists
of Oklahoma. "This show deals with the most pressing issue of our time:
sustainability," said Jeff Stokes, IAO director. 

The exhibit at IAO Gallery, 811 N. Broadway, debuts with a 7-11 p.m. preview
party Saturday, April 18. Tickets are $20 in advance; $25 at the door. 

"Change is in the air. We all feel it," said Shauna Struby, president,
Sustainable OKC. "This year's event is just a seed. Our goal is to sprout
this into an annual Earth Day event that celebrates our community and planet
with thoughtful, creative, fun events and activities focused on capturing
the power of people's imaginations; creating awareness for rethinking how we
live in the world; and building resilient, happy, healthy, sustainable
communities."

The preview party and project is co-chaired by Jacine Arias, creative
director, M-D Building Products, and by Vicki VanStavern, founder and
president of VanStavern Design Group, Inc. "Rethink: Recycle: Redesign was
born out of my MFA thesis project exploring green design as an effective
instrument for social change. Our hope is to help people consider all the
ways we impact our planet, and to serve as a catalyst for rethinking how we
use the earth's resources," said Arias.

Corporate sponsors are Sonic America's Drive-In; Sierra Club;
Weatherizationsouce.com; Arts Council of Oklahoma City; and
Frankfurt-Short-Bruza Associates. 

Inspired by Rethink: Recycle: Redesign, students from the Center for Spatial
Analysis at the University of Oklahoma are using geospatial information
technology to highlight the availability and diversity of local food
resources within 100 miles of Oklahoma City, track local waste, and explore
food security themes in a series of digital maps. The project is the
collaborative effort of Melissa Brown and Matthew Collier, University of
Oklahoma; Adam Lanman, Elliott + Associates Architects; and OU art and
architecture students, using information from the Kerr Center, Oklahoma Food
Cooperative and other sources.

The exhibit features the work of two dozen Oklahoma artists. Stokes cited
the art of Oklahoma City artist Sue Moss Sullivan as exemplifying their
creative approach. "She asks us to take a fresh look at the overlooked
detritus from our coffee machines and by extension, at the world around us.
Sullivan brings forth beauty, possibility and purpose where we normally see
trash. Her sculptures poignantly nag at us, asking; "what other beauty and
possibility for reinvention is lost when we treat our world as disposable?"

Other featured artists are Jacine Arias, Paul Bagley, Nick Bayer, Bryan
Dahlvang, Bill Derrevere, Ron Ferrell, Helen Grant, John Green, Preston
Greer, Aaron Hauck, Susan Horton, Reta and Vana Howell, Brad Humphreys, Amy
Jones, Trent Lawson, Darci Lenker, Tanya Mattek, Michelle Himes, Regina
Murphy, Rebek & Holmes, Diana Smith, Julie Strauss, and Davey Surls.

The artists in the Rethink: Recycle: Redesign exhibit have found creative
ways "to reinvigorate debate and move our ideas of sustainable living
forward," Stokes said.

Recycling and green products are components of the April 18 preview party,
with food from The Wedge, Earth Elements, Hardesty Cheese, Seasons, Kam's
Kookery, Cuppies & Joe, Flip's Wine Bar & Trattoria, Prairie Gypsies, and
Pure Prairie Creamery. Trattoria il Centro will create a special dish for
its spring menu to highlight local ingredients.

Live music will be performed by Oklahoma City band 13 Seeds.

A silent auction will offer items including a stay at an Oklahoma state
park, a basket of made-in-Oklahoma items, Oklahoma City Thunder tickets, and
a stay at the Colcord Hotel.

As part of the exhibit, educational displays include winners of an art
contest open to Oklahoma students, a Green Event Guide, a Guide to Green
Living, trash factoids, and a short film on world population.

"What does it mean to live responsibly?" Struby asked. "It means conscious
living with minimal impact - including using fewer natural resources,
reducing waste, and considering the quality of life that future generations
will experience when making your own lifestyle decisions."

"IAO expects the show to continue stirring up the dialogue on just how we
deal with these issues on a community wide scale, as well as in our daily
lives," Stokes said.

The exhibit runs April 19-May 8, is free and open to the public. Proceeds
from art sales and the silent auction will benefit Sustainable OKC, an
all-volunteer 501(c)3 organization founded in 2005. 

To purchase tickets, visit
www.rethinkrecycleredesign.org/rrr-wheretobuy.html. For more information
about Rethink: Recycle: Redesign, visit www.sustainableokc.org or
www.iaogallery.org. 

###

Media Contact:

Shauna Struby, president, Sustainable OKC

Cell: 405.210.6027

sstruby at cox.net

 

 

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