Environmental Art Project
ENABA PRODUCTIONS
katty vandenberghe
Selogadi Mampane during a sunrise performance at the highest point in Pretoria in the Faerie Glen Nature Reserve.
Opposite: Wilgers wetlands meditation, nature art workshops at Tina Skukan gallery and Manie van der Schijff botanical gardens (UP). From top left: AJ Chappy Holtzhausen, Izanne Wiid & Sybrand Wiechers, Jessie Doucha, Leon Nigrini, Grietjie Lee, Ke Neil We, Anni Snyman.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The Cool Capital Environmental Art Project was facilitated by Site_Specific’s web and media director katty vandenberghe, assisted by Anni Snyman. Artists and nature lovers were invited to activate environmental art projects around the city and its metropolitan areas as individuals or in collaboration with other artists, nature lovers or interested parties. Environmental art is an umbrella term that encompasses land art, eco art, nature art, earth art and related genres. Artists were encouraged to connect with individuals who were involved in maintaining, protecting or researching a chosen site in Pretoria. It was recommended that they contact nature conservationists and researchers to engage with the sites’ natural and anthropological history. Each project had to abide by basic environmental guidelines, and could be expressed through performance, ritual, temporary structures, drawings, or installation. In order to maintain perspective on all our projects and guide artistic intentions, the Site_Specific team compiled the following key values: 1. Space-time specific: Each event should be an immediate context-specific response to the environment in which it takes place. 2. High standard of artistic practice: At the core of each Site_Specific activity is conscientious artistic practice within land art and related genres, inviting artists who are dedicated, respected and renowned for their work. 3. Ecology first: The focus of Site_Specific’s motivation is ‘ecology first’ – interfacing art, culture and nature with the overall aim of working in balance with the environments we engage. 4. Accessible: Public accessibility is of prime importance, using media, advertising and events organization-based industries to facilitate knowledge and understanding of the projects and issues undertaken by Site_Specific. 5. Inclusive: The foundation on which Site_Specific operates is inclusivity – ploughing the majority of its effort and resources into community development programs that hinge on, interface with and feed out of our core activity of conscientious artistic practice. In the word ‘community’ we include all forms and variations of its meaning. All of Site_Specific’s workshops and events are free and open to the public. 6. Educational: Embedded within all its activities, Site_Specific holds education as its key role, aiming to influence minds and paradigms around issues of environment, community, culture, and artistic practice. katty vandenberghe is a digital media artist and designer, bringing her creative
energy to group projects through writing, photography, videography and design. Her interest is in challenging existing narratives, those stories we tell ourselves that are harmful to others, animals and our environment. 164
environmental art