Thinking with the Harrisons: What Does Re-Making Civic Environments Mean?

What does remaking civic environments entail? What does remaking artworks mean? 

This panel will link the Harrisons’ early works, which take the form of DIY instructions and backyard farming installations as an ecological practice, with the challenges of ‘greening’ urban environments today. Drawing on the expertise of panelists involved in significant and innovative ecological work, the discussion will address questions of ownership of the commons - both of ideas and of essential requirements for life, such as water and green spaces.

Panelists: 

• Lauren Bon, Environmental Artist and the Director of the Metabolic Studio, Los Angeles
• Teddy Cruz, Professor of Public Culture and Spatial Practice, Visual Arts Department, UC San Diego
• Fonna Forman, Professor of Political Science and Founding Director of the Center on Global Justice, UC San Diego
• Gabriel Harrison, Son of Helen and Newton Harrison, Associate Director and Curator, Galleries & Exhibitions Department of Art & Art History, Stanford University
• Cris Scorza, Director of Education, Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC

Moderators:

Anne Douglas is Professor Emerita, Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon University, Scotland, exploring the changing place of the artist in public life. This research has increasingly focused on art and the environmental crisis from a practice-led research perspective. She co-produced the Harrisons’ work “On the Deep Wealth of this Nation, Scotland” (2017) in collaboration with Newton Harrison and the Centre for the Study of the Force Majeure, University of California Santa Cruz. 

Chris Fremantle is a researcher and producer of award-winning projects. He was producer on the Harrisons’ project “Greenhouse Britain: Losing Ground, Gaining Wisdom.” He is a longstanding member of the international ecoart network and co-editor of “Ecoart in Action,” a collection of activities, case studies and provocations drawn from the network. He lectures at Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon University, Scotland.