Open call for presentations | Civic Art Lab 2023 (submission deadline Sept 15)

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We are pleased to announce the call for contributions to our 9th annual Civic Art Lab.
Please apply using the form on our website: https://greenspacenyc.org/

Our 9th annual Civic Art Lab considers creative interventions in the management of waste, chemicals and hazardous materials, and water. Urbanization, population growth, and climate change have led to challenges with solid and hazardous waste generation and disposal, and has put stress on water resources. This year’s lab investigates the ways that designers, artists, creative technologists, policy makers, activists, and educators are working to deal with these impacts and what projects are being undertaken to mitigate these risks. The statistics outline a worsening situation.Globally the average person generates 1.6 lbs of waste per day and total waste will rise as the world’s population increases. Even as waste treatment methods have improved, a lot of waste ends up in dump sites and only "20 percent of waste is recycled each year" (Alves, 2023). Hazardous waste, which is especially harmful - coming from dyes, metals in batteries and electronics, and solvents - suffers from inadequate household awareness and lack of industry compliance. Clean water and water systems are taken for granted in many parts of society just as many rivers and lakes have "dried up" or have become "too polluted to use" - and it is expected that by 2025, "two-thirds of the world’s population may face water shortages." (WWF, 2023). With these challenges in mind, we welcome proposals for themed panels, artist talks, and shorter Pecha Kucha presentations. Proposals include but are not limited to the following topics:

-Water, chemical, and waste governance and education
-Frameworks for the management of chemicals and waste
-Creative approaches to water, chemicals, and waste management
-Design applications for recyclable and non recyclable waste
-Stormwater, gray water, and rainwater collection projects
-Environmentally-sensitive and water-sensitive design
-Urban design and development projects
-"Pollution, Poverty, and [its impact on] people of color" (Kay & Katz, 2012)
-Hazardous materials in art, design, and urban histories
-Public health and healthcare design
-Electronics waste / e-waste and disposal

Thank you for application!

For additional questions, please email Laura.Scherling@tc.columbia.edu and jeffkasper@umass.edu

GREENSPACENYC is a non-profit collaborative that develops and curates free educational programming, hands-on workshops, and public design projects that encourage dialogue, enliven public spaces, and promote the future of a more equitable and sustainable city.

Our public programs take place in a range of spaces from public parks to to community spaces to vacant storefronts. Each project is created in collaboration with volunteer-artists, designers, educators, activists, and the general public. The organization is fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas, giving it its status as a 501(c)(3) and receives material sponsorship from Material for the Arts (NYC Office of Cultural Affairs).
To register for Civic Art Lab 2021, please visit our eventbrite page:
http://civicartlab.eventbrite.com.