F E AT U R E : C O E X I S T
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tudents in Professor Susan Elizabeth Ryan’s art and environment seminar used social engagement and creative
action to shed light on environmental concerns in Louisiana. Ryan’s seminar covers the history, theory, and analysis of participatory art— commonly known as social practice art—with a focus on climate and environmental issues, especially in Louisiana. After reading texts on the history and theory of environmental issues and social practice art, Ryan’s students paired up with Marylee and Michael Orr of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network and worked in groups to execute their own social interactions in Louisiana communities.
One group in Ryan’s art history seminar
focused on Alsen, a small, unincorporated town founded by freed slaves in the 19th century. As noted by environmental researchers like law professor Oliver Houck and geographer Dr. Craig Colten, this community has been repeatedly targeted by waste and petrochemical companies to bear a disproportionate and unsafe exposure to toxic byproducts in their water, soil, and air. This chronic case of eco-racism was exacerbated after the extreme flooding of Baton Rouge in summer 2016, when truckloads of unsorted flood debris ended up in Ronaldson Field, an active dump site near residents’ homes.
Recognizing that communities like Alsen
often lack the resources to confront their environmental concerns head on, Erin Rolfs (MA in Art History candidate), Hannah Sonnier (BFA in Studio Arts candidate), and Kristian Carroll (BA candidate) invoked the presence of Alsen native and late activist Mary McCastle (1929–2000) in a “projection bombing” featuring an animation 16
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