Throughout history, art has reflected our relationship with nature—from cave etchings, landscape paintings, wildlife photography, and land art, to today’s climate change artwork. Although often thought of as separate or disconnected disciplines, art and science share common values and methodologies. Driven by curiosity, cross-disciplinary efforts between the arts and sciences can produce innovative and unexpected solutions to pressing ecological challenges, and engage audiences with scientific information in more accessible and compelling ways.
In this course, you will focus on the intersection of art and science in environmental leadership, and how these disciplines can collaborate to creatively respond to pressing environmental challenges. Additionally, you will establish foundations in environmental leadership and understand your role in developing solutions in the form of environmental action.
Alongside foundations in environmental leadership, this course provides a survey of the history of environmental art, and how art and science are intersecting today. You will explore how art can affect attitudes about environmental topics and how art–science partnerships can address ecological challenges directly, in perhaps more novel ways than either discipline could do alone. We will analyze examples of environmental art projects around a range of environmental subject matter (water quality, flooding, urban heat, soil health, and air quality), and art forms (painting, sculpture, performance, writing, and music).
We will focus our learning around:
None required. This course is a good fit for students with a passion for environmental topics and are interested in crossing traditional disciplinary boundaries to achieve social and environmental change. Basic fluency with environmental topics and interest in any form of art is helpful. An interdisciplinary, integrative, big picture, creative mindset. Not necessary to consider yourself to be “an artist.”
Online sections of Pre-College courses are offered in one of the following modalities: Asynchronous, Mostly asynchronous, or Blended. Please review full information regarding the experience here.