Anonymous Comrade writes:

The Drop

New York City, April, 2006

"The Drop," an exhibition about water quality and rights, is taking place at Exit Art in NYC. It opens April 8th. On Saturday, April 29th, a conference considers the question:

"Water Challenges Facing New York City:
Finding Visionary Solutions"

Saturday, April 29, 2006

THE DROP public programs will include two panel discussions and an artist-led walking tour of New York's waterways & water resources, organized by Amy Lipton of ecoartspace, a curator who has been engaged with art and the environment for ten years. In the spirit of promoting discussion and analysis, Exit Art has organized a flexible presentation of panels and speakers.The full-day panel and walking tour will focus on visionary approaches to resolving problems with and disputes over New York waterways, and will include artists, activists, water scientists, and representatives from the Department of Environmental Conservation who will speak about the importance of New York waterways. Panelists will present their visionary solutions to the water challenges facing New York City. The afternoon session will be a forum moderated by Amy Lipton, where the panelists will discuss solutions to our local water issues.

11AM Morning Session


Each of the participating artists, environmentalists, scientists and landscape architects on the panel will give a five-minute presentation on their work and how it relates to water issues in New York City.

1–2PM Break for lunch

2PM Afternoon Session


The morning panelists will begin a dialogue about real solutions to the water problems facing New York, and then open this discussion with the audience.
Panelists for morning and afternoon sessions include:
Artists: Brandon Ballengee, Bob Braine and Jackie Brookner

Eric Goldstein, Co-Director, Urban Programs, National Resources Defense Council

Chris Wilde, Watershed Director, Riverkeeper

Franco Montaldo, hydrologist / environmental engineer, Earth Institute, Columbia University
Margie Ruddick, Landscape Architect

Sunday, April 30, 12 Noon

Artist-led walking tour of New York City waterways, exploring existing and former water sources and their importance.

Organized by Amy Lipton, Curator ecoartspace, NY and Abington Art Center, Philadelphia

THE DROP focuses on what many environmentalists consider to be one of the most important issues of the 21st century: water and its controversial role in the global environment.



During the 1960's and 70's public awareness of the degradation of the earth's environment was at an all-time high - the farm industry, oil crisis and global warming, were brought to the public's attention by activists, environmentalists, and conservationists. Organizations like Greenpeace and the Environmental Protection Agency, the federal group convened to "protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment," were founded; the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species acts were passed; and the first Earth Day was held. Motivated by a vision for environmentally safe practices and solutions to the world's environmental and ecological problems, these groups and individuals began to shape a generation of grassroots activism and organizing.



In the 1970s artists such as Agnes Denes, Robert Smithson, Joseph Beuys, Mierle Laderman Ukeles and Michael Heitzer did large-scale public projects that commented on the environment in which they were placed. In the 1980s and 90s, artists took advantage of new ways to deploy, collaborate, and access information, they responded to new environmental concerns such as recycling, rainforest protection, acid rain, and the near-extinction of some animal populations.



Well into the 21st century, we still recognize the world's natural resources and environment as key national and global concerns. As science and technology move ahead at lightening speeds, so do debates and concerns over the environment — from government regulations and privatization of public lands to the overabundance of genetically modified fruits and vegetables. Systems for environmental erosion are becoming more complex, making cross-disciplinary dialogues amongst scientists, artists, environmentalists, conservationists, and historians increasingly beneficial. Exit Art explores these ideas in THE DROP, a conceptual exhibition that poses questions about the current environmental landscape in order to foster a deeper understanding of our natural resources and environment.



Exit Art has a rich history of presenting issue-based exhibitions that bring together science, activism and concern about the environment, including Poverty Pop (1994), an exhibition of work by artists who used recycled objects to create their artwork; Public Notice (1997), an exhibition about the intersection of graphic design and activism; Paradise Now: Picturing the Genetic Revolution (2000) in which artists brought an awareness to the benefits and dangers inherent in genetic research; and our upcoming exhibition The Brain scheduled for 2007.

Exit Art

475 Tenth Avenue

New York, NY 10018

Please contact Exit Art for more information 212-966-7745 or info@exitart.org

April 8–June 10, 2006

Opening Saturday, April 8, 7–10PM

Hours:

Tuesday–Thursday 10–6

Friday 10–8

Saturday 12–8

Open Late Friday and Saturday until 8PM