ENVIRONMENTAL ARTS and JUSTICEZINE
EAJ VelosoEnvironmental Arts & Justice
To the wonderful reader, I offer EAJZINE, a collection of social media posts, alongside personal reflections from my Research placement at the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change – Environmental Arts and Justice. I hope this inspires you to continue reaching out (especially during an age of social distancing), building enriching relationships and communities, and working towards making meaningful work in Environmental Arts and Justice and beyond. While the posts present images of interviewees’ work, I am most appreciative of the discussions I’ve had with the artists and scholars. From people just wrapping up their undergrad to those more seasoned in the arts and academia, the connections and relationships I’ve developed over the course is an experience that has impacted my education as well as the ways I think about arts and cultural production. The works here are not presented in any specific order, though similarities might be drawn by artistic medium. Finally, EAJZINE wouldn’t be the same without the generosity of the contributors!!! I hope for this to serve as a catalyst toward making environmental art and imagining a better planet.
- Marvin Veloso, 2021
#EAJYU ECOJUSTICE NOW!
Environmental Arts and Justice
Camille Turner
3 Principles in Camille Turner’s work:
1. Blackness is central
2. Time is non-linear
3. Imagination is a tool for world making
Among her many projects, The Afronautic Research Lab (2019) coincides with her doctoral thesis which confronts Newfoundland as a site of the Black Atlantic.
3 principles Turner follows in her work are:
1. Blackness is central
2. Time is non-linear
3. Imagination is a tool for World Making
Find more of Camille Turners work at CamilleTurner.com
Multidisciplinary artist, activist and PhD Candidate in Environmental and Urban Change #EAJYU Video still from The Afronautic Research Lab (2019) From The Afronautic Research Lab (2019)Flora Gomez is an artist/ performer and a graduate student in the Masters of Environmental Studies exploring issues surrounding food access, human-nature disruption, and body representation.
In Plate Talks (2020), Flora embodies the nourishment and abundance the earth provides as a way to critique harmful and exploitative practices behind the global agri-business industry. Her background in health and nutrition, which takes a holistic approach, has led her to facilitating community workshops for young women to talk and perform through ideas of media representation, the body, and healing.
Environmental Arts & Justice highlight: Reflecting on her Cree ancestry, and passion for animal and food justice, Sara cites her mother for inspiring her to create “Manifest Destiny,” an installation consisting of painted plates that when brought together, illustrate a story. When asked about the title of her work, Sara describes evoking a sense of irony, “something that wouldn’t be too didactic, but poetic at the same time. Something that would spark a discussion with my mom.” Sara is an EUC student who plans to further pursue the intersection of research and art-making.
Erica Gajewski is a PhD candidate from the Environmental and Urban Change faculty whose artworks have been exhibited internationally. With an interest in animal studies, visual arts, and the environmental humanities, her upcoming project (which will accompany her dissertation) includes a series of works organized around a farm she inhabited in southern Ontario. Utilizing organic materials from the farmland, she investigates, traces, and explores the multispecies lives, histories, and mutually dependent futures of the resident critters, both human and non-human, dependent on rural agricultural lands in the southern Ontario region. For a program like Environmental Arts and Justice, Erica reminds students to approach the work and research with curiosity and thoughtful consideration, and to develop, trust, and be guided by your deep intuition.
As a piano instructor, Elaine Teguibon (Hon. BES & M.Ed) is an alumni from the Environmental Studies/CAP program questioning the roles and representations of music and sound in our environments. Through a visual arts project (still in development) that represents piano music scores, Elaine explores works from composers from the classical to contemporary era, and is asking, how do we engage with music?
Overview of the position
Within the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change at York University, my role as a Research Assistant for the Environmental Arts and Justice program looked to support faculty and engage students and alumni. As an interdisciplinary program drawing upon environmental studies, art making, and political and social change, Environmental Arts and Justice (EAJ) provides students the space and support to critically and creatively engage with the world (and even imagine alternative worlds). Working closely with Professor Sarah Flicker, Professor Andil Gosine and the broader EUC faculty, the tasks included outreach, creative promotions, and production support. By conducting one-on-one interviews with current students, alumni, and faculty, social media profiles were designed in order to call attention to the program’s core values, generate discussion, engage with potential students, and foster EUCs artistic community. After the interview, artist/ scholar profile would include photos and a description describing a selected art piece, the process making it, and how it fits into the context of EAJ. It was expected for two to three social media posts weekly and to keep in touch with the media department through email correspondence. Considering we are working within the YorkU context, specific guidelines and design restrictions were followed to maintain a consistent design. Additionally, there was a focus on promoting arts based learning practices within EUC and supporting the lead professor in research related projects.
Exploring sexuality, artistic responses to HIV and AIDS, and queer ecologies, spatialities, and temporalities, Andrew Zealley is an artist, activist, and Ph.D. holder from the Environmental and Urban Change Faculty. His dissertation (titled Risky Business: Artistic Responses to the Biopolitics of HIV/AIDS) includes an audio intervention, now published as a 2LP vinyl record edition: Soft Subversions (2021). Soft Subversions culminates “six years of research into risk, art, and sex in the era of AIDS industry” through sonic elements “that unconsciously laid the foundations for socio-sonic and -sexual cultures and spaces.” Soft Subversions, Andrew tells us, is about risky, sexual art and movement that demands deep listening.
Althea Milne-Hines
Image of Water Prophecies (2021)
Alathea is currently a student in the Cultural and Artistic Practices Certificate program (CAP) with a background in arts education and community organizing. Most recently, she assisted in co-ordinating and contributed a piece for Street Art Toronto’s Water Hoarding Project. Her public mural titled Water Prophecies (2021), located at Coxwell and Lakeshore, illustrates an imagined landscape where her passion for social justice and community mobilizing come together.
Erin Isaac
Erin Isaac is a multidisciplinary artist and designer, who has recently completed the #YorkUEUC CAP certificate. Erin’s interest in textiles allows her to explore and interrogate environmental issues like in “Opossum in the City”(2019) which whimsically illustrates human and animal interrelationships; or in “Who’s to Blame?”(2019) which satirically re-imagines corporate extractivism. Aside from her arts practice, Erin is dedicated to researching sustainable materials, community building, and crochet design. You can find more of her amazing work at @erin.crochet.
#EAJYU Environmental Arts and Justice
Environmental Arts & Justice highlight: “Wrapped in a Dream“ (2020) by Kayla Su grapples with societal expectations imposed on young women, while addressing her frustrations against animal cruelty. When asked what inspires her work, Kayla notes the honeysuckle flower, “They are beautiful, yet, dangerous because they can be poison... in some ways, I feel like this.” Kayla plans to continue the story by creating more work and opening up discussions surrounding animal justice and the body.
Wrapped in my Dreams (2020)
Kayla Su
Summary of duties and responsibilities
My discussion with current students and alumni would aim to build a personal and professional connection, get an idea of how theory and practice work together, and ask how artists and scholars situate their work within an interdisciplinary field like EAJ. In preparation for the interview, my initial research involved analysing participants’ existing work, asking myself how I see it fitting in with the EAJ context, and developing questions I could turn to to keep the interview grounded. Following this, coordinating interviews required scheduling interviews either through Zoom or phone call. Depending on the person, the duration of interviews would range from 30 minutes to over an hour. The insight that would emerge from these conversations allowed me to produce meaningful and engaging profiles.
The development of creative content to be displayed on EUC social platforms further required correspondence with the media team. The responsibility with working along brand guidelines is in part due to an overall York University protocol. Though this might have posed a limitation, there were also opportunities to exercise creative ways alongside it. In all the social posts you will notice a basic template that remains consistent throughout. As far as the images and the layout, this is where I could get expressive. Likewise, the description of the project also provided an opportunity for creative writing that would engage with prospective students and faculty on virtual platforms. As a crucial step toward fostering an online community, promoting EUCs visual and literary talents, as well as the Zig Zag Gallery, allows for students to further pursue their own interests and practice it within their own research. Furthermore, by highlighting alumni who are working professionally illustrates the potential of career opportunities. It is important for students close to graduating to recognize the many fields available to enter after completing their degree. I was tasked with truly reflecting participants’ works, requiring careful and critical consideration, while keeping in mind the end user. In short, my hope was to encourage students to think broadly about the environment, embodied knowledge, and the role of art in society.
Nikie Martin
Peter Hobbs is an artist, educator, and PhD alumni from the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change whose work transverses visual studies, environmental humanities, and social justice. His dissertation is entitled Chemical Intimacies and Toxic Public (2016) and concentrates on polluting industries in Toronto and Chemical Valley. It draws upon ecological storytelling, comic book imagery, and archival documents to explore “how capitalism has turned pollution into a generally accepted form of violence perpetuated in the name of economic health.” Peter currently teaches at OCAD University.
Nikie Martin is an EUC undergraduate student who explores the intersection of environmentalism and feminist theory. Using watercolours and collage, she gives gratitude toward the women who inspire and nurture her desire to grow. In this piece, Niki reflects on her Mexican ancestry, imagines a brighter future, and reminds us to acknowledge the creation, abundance and care that mother-earth provides.
Maria Saleh
Born in Abu Dhabi, Maria Saleh is a Filipinx and Sudani poet and community organizer, who recently obtained the Cultural and Artistic Practices (CAP) certificate. Using spoken word and video, Chameleon (2018) reflects on the complexities of the interstice and enacts hope toward a more accepting future that will allow us to embody our multiple selves. Maria is inspired to continue the conversation on @Luhacollective, “a home for people who have yet to believe that they are artists.”
As an alumni from the Masters of Environmental Studies, Sarah Magni is the founder and artistic director of Thatz Showbiz Theatre, a non-profit theatre company dedicated to empowering, educating, and purposefully working with youth and adults who are neurodiverse and/or have intellectual disabilities, as well as youth who have been underrepresented on stages and underserved by theatre education (QTBIPOC). Through a decolonial approach toward theatre practices, Sarah challenges traditional notions of theatre spaces and uncovers emancipatory sites for creative thinking, community building, and social activism. Follow @thatzshowbiz for more!
Marissa Di Taranto Safe Spaces for Discomforting Discussion
As a current student in EUC and CAP, Marissa Di Taranto is passionate about education reform and alternative ways of learning. In Man’s Best friend (2019), Marissa presents three photographs that call into question the tendencies between humans and dogs in order to create safe spaces for discomforting discussion. This piece has allowed her to challenge, explore and reflect on her own experience and critically respond to broader underlying social issues. As a practicing educator, she hopes to share these ideas through a holistic approach
JC Elijah M. Bawuah
JC Elijah M. Bawuah is an Afro-Asian Queer urban planner and video-maker, pursuing a Masters in Environmental Studies. His research explores the impact of city building practices and the ways queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, and people of colour (QTBIPOC) experience, navigate, and negotiate space. Currently working on an exploratory film, Eli hopes to contribute to the achievements of previous and current queer racialized work, by inspiring additional conversations, opportunities for healing and social change, and mapping out sites of belonging.
Maggie Flynn is a multidisciplinary artist, organizer, and alumni from the Community Art Practice (CAP) certificate whose work has shown in galleries and exhibitions across Canada. Her upcoming project, In the Water (2021), is an investigative research and performance piece that probes questions and outlines the inter-relationships between extractive industries and art institutions in Canada. On May 5th and 27th, this virtual 2-part series, presented at #MayWorksFestival2021 will invite participants to consider, engage with, and reflect on the impacts of these institutions in supporting Canadian artistic expression.
To celebrate #Pride month we turn to the Hall of Justice Posters series by MES and CAP alumni, artist, educator and community organizer John Caffery. Accompanying his Masters theses, the Hall of Justice poster series features a dynamic group of 2SLGBTQ+ activists, artists, and scholars; challenges racism, sexism, homo/trans-phobia; and intervenes in public spaces in order to raise awareness and celebrate the community members, throughout generations, who have and continue to call for justice. John Caffery is also working on Courage my Friends, a podcast engaging thinkers and activists to envision a brighter and necessary future.
Making Room in Environmental Studies: An Inter-disciplinary Approach with
Michael Burtt
Heather Hermant is an MES alumni and was a long-standing sessional faculty member in Environmental Studies who taught in the CAP certificate program throughout its first decade. Heather's artwork engages queer histories, complicates archives, and explores community memory. In "queer slow dance with radical thought"(2015), a collaboration with Alvis Parsley, archivist-librarian-performers work locally, site-specifically and telematically to transmit queer archives through slow dances with audience members, across global LGBTTIQQ2SA communities. As we celebrate Pride in our digital age, "queer slow dance with radical thought" might ask us to imagine community within the virtual worlds we inhabit.
Michael Burtt is an alumni from the Masters in Environmental Studies and the CAP program who is currently in the process of organizing a network to bring together spirituality, story sharing, and gathering space. His dedication for collaborative art-making comes from running Making Room, where for more than 10 years engaged diverse individuals and communities through an inter-disciplinary approach encouraging listening, sharing, and co-creating. You can find previous work from Making Room
Development of skills and experience
The confidence to ask questions, engage in virtual settings and carry on scholarly discussions with students and alumni is a rewarding feeling developed over the course of my placement. Indeed, at first I felt intimidated by the prospect of having to talk to Phd students because of their experience and dedication in their field. I did not want to say something stupid or offtopic that would not add to the purpose. However, with more and more practice, I continued talking to more people, listened carefully for key themes and realized that our discussion would become a collaborative effort. When looking at these profiles as an exercise in collaboration, the efforts to develop a unique profile were less stressful. The point of holding meaningful discussion is a reciprocal process, between listening and adding, action and reflection. Critical awareness of how to situate the discussions within the broader context of EAJ lead to better and engaging outcomes. Since working online was the best option, skills for communicating in virtual settings would prove to be a valuable asset I could carry into the future. This includes designing visually appealing posts and writing engaging pieces. What is more, is that I was able to bring in my own interests and experience to think critically about art and education. While speaking to Camille Turner, she had reminded me that we are always learning from each other no matter where you’re at. Luckily, she was my first interview – I would take this moving forward. At other times, I was able to bring insight out of people who didn’t realize they accomplished so much throughout their studies. The support for my peers, students like myself, would prove to be something I appreciate in both personal and professional relationships.
Aitak Sorahitalab
Story-telling and Access to Public Art
With a background in ceramics and production design, Aitak Sorahitalab is an Iranian Canadian arts worker, activist and PhD candidate in the Environmental Studies program interested in the influence and access of cultural and artistic productions in public space; and the impact it plays toward social and political change.
Her work titled “(Im)possible” (2019) was featured at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, ON, as part of the 2019 Nuit Blanche arts festival. Through a participatory, interactive installation “compromised of more than 100 ceramic pieces,” combined with visual story-telling, Aitak movingly captures her personal experience within the Iranian diaspora; raising questions of im/ migration as a way to encourage audience members to share, reflect, and relate to human lives.
Erin Baird Performing An Unearthing (2020)
As a Masters student in Environmental Studies, Erin Baird explores the key role that Toronto plays in supporting and enabling the global mining industry. Her current research calls to attention the strategic presences and absences of the industry within the city, with the aim of disrupting the industry’s polished presentation of their history, role in our world, and their current operations. Through performance and investigative filmmaking, “An Unearthing”(2020) documents and reflects on the implications of the presence of the mining industry in the lives of young people through their donations and influence on various educational spaces.
Joanna Prescod
Joanna Prescod currently works as the Outreach & Project Manager at Community Arts Guild in Scarborough, ON. Her experience in Environmental Community Arts Workshop allowed her to combine her interest in costume design, textiles, and social justice to critique exploitative practices within the garment industry. As part of the Nuit Blanche 2018-19 programming, Joanna helped facilitate and organize INTERLACING, a travelling and participatory installation that weaves memories situated in Scarborough. Her current research interest focuses on women in the everyday, fashion as a form of resistance, and hypervisuality – an assemblage of style, space and sight. You can follow her research @hypervisuality
Relationship to Learning Objectives
A learning objective I set out for myself at the beginning of this placement was to apply what I’ve learned throughout my studies and practice it through conversations about art making, education, and social life. As a Culture and Expression major pursuing the Cultural and Artistic Practices certificate (CAP), this placement provided the space to draw upon what I already know and then build upon that. Moreover, I was able to build valuable and enriching relationships, discover my own cross-disciplinary practice within the institution and broaden my awareness of potential careers. As I wrap up my undergraduate and certificate program, there is a lot more clarity toward what I can become, what support is needed, how far I am willing to go, and realizing this is all part of a process. And so I believe I am in the process of making artwork that will stand the test of time, that will outlive this body. This is the confidence I’ve been seeking in myself that, through deep and contemplative discussions with many I am motivated to continue.
Challenges and lessons learned
The limits and possibilities of virtual space were always in mind. And of course this was a challenge – contacting people online, as opposed to being in-person where I could easily turn to classmates. Yet, I met so many people and built great relationships, which for students like myself, was concerning. Scheduling meetings with interviewees got a bit hectic at one point, especially during exam period – one thing I learned here is time management and organization. At times, I sent out emails only to get no response. Developing an awareness of others’ busy and hectic schedule reminded me to not take anything personal. In short, the challenges regarding time, guidelines, and outreach would all pose alternatives in which to seek out and push into creative directions.
Marvin Veloso is a current student in EUCs Cultural and Artistic Practices certificate, as well as a 4th year major in LA&PS Culture and Expression. “Self-Portrait”(2020) was created in a class titled Environmental Politics, Justice and Arts, and pulls from found-objects including clothing garments, bamboo leaves, decaying flowers, children’s accessories, and other materials. As a softsculpture, “Self-portrait” allows Marvin to embody, explore, and probe ideas of identity, community, and power.
“I am always fascinated when listening to my peers reflect on this piece because it almost feels like they’re talking about me. I remember someone saying it looks like trash, but with a sense of humour. I’ve also been told it looks like a nest, a bouquet of flowers, a religious altar. All these are valid.”
Marvin Veloso
I used to think about the environment as forests, the wild, things of that “nature”... However, after many conversations with people I met over this placement, I’ve come to realize that much of it is the relationships we hold with space and time; the relationships we foster within community, with human and nonhuman; how identity and history are implicated, and at all scales from local to planetary. How we imagine and embody alternative worlds , while caring and acknowledging those that came before us is a valuable lesson I was consistently reminded of when interviewing students and alumni. Though this zine might not solve the contemporary climate crises or put an end to plastic straws, I hope that it inspires you to make environmental art, social change, community, and envision a harmonious future for human and nonhuman. ECOJUSTICE NOW!
