nARTure: TIE Sponsors Eco-Art

Last month, TIE and Environmental Studies co-sponsored an event in partnership with the Tufts Art Gallery and Visual and Critical Studies designed to generate an interdisciplinary dialogue on environmental issues through an exhibit that considers our interactions with and relationship to nature. The exhibit, "nARTure: Re-shaping eco-art," challenges how we as humans approach and understand nature as discourse, how imposed distance from the natural world has led to opposition to our environment, and the fundamental need to reshape our perspective in our contemporary moment.

 In an interview with TIE, Silvia Bottinelli, the curator and designer of the exhibit, stressed the necessity of an adapted approach to how humans consider the natural world. Rather than viewing nature as separate from our lived experiences, we must first recognize our position within the environment, the better to understand ourselves as a part of nature.This crucial shift in our position, Silvia noted, will allow humans to imagine a future where our lives do not depend on the exploitation of resources or result in extreme loss of biodiversity.

The nARTure exhibit featured students working in a variety of mediums. Their projects seek to educate viewers on topics relating to consumerism, energy resources, waste, and many others. Together, their works offer a perspective on our relationship with nature that imagines a future beyond rigid boundaries, one where intersections are prized rather than distinction and difference. 

Taylor Parrish, TIE Graduate Intern

Photo Credit: Natalia Leginowicz "Mediating Ground," Leah Weld "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner,"  Chaya Mushka Rice, Si Chen "Branch I, II, III." All photos taken of their original work.