Environmental Art Colony

The National Parks have more than 50 Artist Residency programs across the United States. The mission of the Parks is to offer programs that… “provide artists with unique opportunities to create works of art in varied natural and cultural settings”. In most cases, these programs lean towards more traditional forms of art such as painting, sculpture, drawings, writing, instrumental music composition, etc… However, the direction of art has been significantly altered over the past forty years with the emergence of new art forms including environmental art. This artistic movement has been characterized by artists who incorporate environmental processes, methods, and scientific data as the motivation and structure of their work. In short, these artists work directly in and with the environment.

The Environmental Art Colony project will undertake a feasibility study to design, evaluate and analyze the potential for an Environmental Art Colony in the Acadia National Park. The Colony would be a place where environmental artists live, work, and interact with the scientific community, the public, and one another. Specifically, the project Team is investigating a variety of logistical and organizational issues such as housing, advertising, financing, work-space, artist selection process, public outreach programs, science and art collaboration potential, educational programs, transportation between SERC and MDI, etc. It is the intent of the project to propose an Environmental Art Colony that presents an innovative model and contemporary approach to the traditional ‘Artist Residency’ programs of the National Parks. The project will include the making of a video documentary that can be distributed to Park personnel and other key organizations detailing the Environmental Art Colony concept.