Symbiocene Era Artists Envision Environmental Symbiosis Exhibition Opens at Bushel

DELHI — Bushel invites the public to the opening reception of its new exhibition “Symbiocene Era: Artists Envision Environmental Symbiosis,” on Saturday, October 5, 4–7 pm. Bushel is located at 106 Main Street, in Delhi. This event is open to the public. Refreshments will be available.  

Guest curated by multimedia artist, activist, and educator Kathleen Sweeney, this show features the work of eleven women artists exploring diverse pathways of integration and collaboration with nature in their artistic output as painters, storytellers, artisans, interdisciplinary artists, found-object sculptors, photographers, and videographers who inhabit the rural area of the Catskills watershed in New York State. They are Sarah Bachinger, Susie Bellamy, Toni Brogan, Sharon Horvath, Christina Hunt Wood, Robin Kahn, Emily Johnston, Rachel Owens, Heather Phelps-Lipton, Christie Scheele, Kathleen Sweeney.

“Symbiocene takes its root from Symbiosis (or ‘living together’),” explains guest curator Kathleen Sweeney. “The exhibition concept focuses on envisioning a world of collaboration with nature in all aspects of creative revisioning of our relationship to diversity, honoring our homeland, and expanding alliances to protect the ecosystems of the Catskills and beyond.” She continues, “These are artists, solutionists, ecoactivists, and changemakers who are integrating creative practices into deeply engaged environmental awareness, expanding what it means to be responsible creators. This includes questioning their own carbon footprints through creative reuse and art material sourcing while moving out of the studio into community to help co-create a world beyond dystopia and despair.” 

The opening reception on Saturday, October begins at 4 pm, with remarks by the guest curator and several participating artists at 5 pm. 

In conjunction with the show, Bushel will host two programs: a film screening of “How to Power a City” (with a Q&A with the director Melanie La Rosa) on Saturday, October 19 ($10 suggested donation) and an earth pigment painting workshop by participating artist Emily Johnston on Saturday, October 26 (free with reservation on Bushel’s website).

Kathleen Sweeney (guest curator), is an interdisciplinary artist, storyteller, environmental steward and community weaver. She recently released The Book of Awe: Wandering and Rewilding, a publication of original photography and poetic wonder lore, funded in part by an Individual Artists Grant from the Delaware County Council for the Arts/NYSCA. Video art and photography exhibitions include South by Southwest, Zentrum fur Kunst und Medientechnologie, LA Center for Digital Art, Atlanta Film Festival, with panels, residencies and presentations at universities, media art centers and residencies at Cill Rialaig Art Center, Ireland; The Mind and Life Institute Europe; and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. An Assistant Professor of Media Studies at The New School for Public Engagement, her courses explore creativity, multimedia storytelling, social change innovation, girl leadership, mindfulness and digital detox literacy. The author of Maiden USA: Girl Icons Come of Age, she has published articles at Afterimage and IndieWire and has been funded by the NEA, NYSCA and Ford Foundation. A native New Yorker and lifelong environmentalist, she recently relocated to the woods of Roxbury, NY where she co-founded Don’t Trash the Catskills. Current artwork incorporates foraged forest materials, photography and video art inspired by the Catskills ecosystem.  www.kathleensweeney.com. 

Bios of the eleven participating artists on Symbiocene Era webpage on Bushel website. 

BUSHEL is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit, volunteer-led, mixed-use space dedicated to art, agriculture, ecology, and action. It is located at 106 Main Street in Delhi. For more information, go to www.bushelcollective.org.