The D.R.A.W. Begins 2nd Annual Eco Arts Week
with Opening Presentation by Artist sTo Len on April 15,
“Dissolving into the Hydrocommons:
Ecological Art Practice as a Collaborative Movement”

At the Ulster County Restorative Justice and Community Empowerment Center
733 Broadway, Kingston NY

On Saturday, April 15th, a presentation by artist sTo Len will begin the D.R.A.W.’s 2nd Annual Eco Arts Week 2023 with his talk, “Dissolving into the Hydrocommons: Ecological Art Practice as a Collaborative Movement” from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at the Ulster County Restorative Justice and Community Empowerment Center at 733 Broadway.

Len–a genre fluid artist with interests in printmaking, installation, sound, video, and performance–will give a talk on his interdisciplinary practice that embodies an “in the field” ethos which deconstructs an artist’s job with a collaborative, holistic, and community-minded approach blending civic stewardship with playful and poetic investigations. The cross-disciplinary nature of Len’s work includes transforming public spaces such as a river into an art studio, recycling waste into art materials, creating a community pirate radio station, and hosting water ritual performances at Superfund sites. He is currently the new artist-in-residence at the NYC Department of Sanitation.

The 2nd annual Eco Arts Week, April 15-23 will feature workshops that focus on eco art, environmental activism, upcycling, repurposing, bio-material exploration, and deep listening. The week of events features a kickoff keynote presentation by sTo Len, NYC artist-in-residence at the Department of Sanitation. Supported by an NEA Challenge America grant, the Eco Arts Week acknowledges Earth Day, which is on April 22.

This is a free event with registration.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL SCHEDULE & TO REGISTER

“Artists are always questioning, inventing and responding to the world around them. The environment, and our relationship to it will be the focus of the week,” explains Director Lara Giordano. “I look forward to learning more about how artists are using their work to interpret, investigate and mitigate our interactions with our environment.”

The workshops will feature local artists Roberta Ziemba, artists of The Hudson Valley Bee Habitat, Aurora Brush, Luke Sarrantonio, Lisa B Kelley, Sergey Jivetin, Michael Asbill, Karen Jaimes, Kelly McGrath, Isabel Cotarelo, PJ Flanagan, and Maxine Leu. These hands-on classes look to inspire creative change by investigating ways to illuminate the connections between the natural world and art. The topics include: using sustainable art materials, making pollinator habitats, printing using found objects, the intersection of art and mycology, seed portraits, making charcoal, seed balls for pollinators, non-toxic casting molds, using found objects to make utilitarian art, repurposing clothing, and printmaking using everyday kitchen items. They will all be held at the DRAW studio, located on the ground floor of the Energy Square building at 20 Cedar Street in midtown Kingston.

About The Department of Regional Art Workers (D.R.A.W.) 
The D.R.A.W. is the art education project of the Kingston Midtown Arts District (MAD). Located at Energy Square on Cedar St, the D.R.A.W. is a growing community of artists, educators, entrepreneurs and students who believe in the ability of the arts to act as an agent of change. We believe a strong art education significantly enhances the character, quality of life, and economy of our neighborhoods. The D.R.A.W.’s programming is built on a spiraling inter-generational framework where expertise, interaction and experience generate ongoing community learning. To learn more about The D.R.A.W., please visit drawkingston.org.