Say Goodbye to Plastic Bags

In Manchester, this environmental performance is planned for 3 July - International Plastic Bag Free Day. We could do something similar in South Africa, can't we?

Addition (28 July 2014):

On local soil, in Greyton and Montagu:

Thank you, Jurgen from Simonskloof Mountain Retreat for sharing this poster!

Nature in Expressive Movement

In 2010 Karl Cronin from San Francisco got backing from sponsors on Kickstarter for a project in which he documents the movement patterns of plants and animals. It's facinating work and I love watching his reenactments of these movement patterns. View the Somatic Natural History Archive at naturalhistory.us and dryearth.org



You can also read more about the project at Cargo Collective, the Movement Research Blog, and a review by Cathy Fitzgerald entitled "Performance artist creates movement portraits of 10,000 plants and animals".



When looking at a project like this, I am reminded how endless the possibilities are for art or creativity to express and explore our natural world, and to educate people about the wonders of nature! 

Are you working on a project focused on appreciating, researching, archiving, expressing and/or exploring the natural environment, animals or the landscape? Share it on this blog - email your story to artlovenature@gmail.com. 

Hiernamaals | Hereafter exhibition in Stellenbosch

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Vacancy at UNIMA SA

Janni Younge is stepping down from her position as CEO of UNIMA SA (best known for their annual Out the Box festival in Cape Town) in order to focus on other commitments.

In order for there to be a smooth transition the Board of Directors are actively seeking an individual who has experience in the following areas including:

• Operations Management,
  
• Communication & Marketing,
  
• Organisational Development,
  
• Public Affairs
  
• and finally fundraising. The Fundraising function may be negotiable. Unima South Africa may consider appointing a consultant to undertaking the scoping of donors etc. Secondly, appoint a Fundraiser (at risk), to raise programme funds.

The detailed job description of the CEO is available on their website, (www.unimasouthafrica.org).

If you are or know of a candidate who wants to work with a team of artists/individuals who are dedicated to promoting and developing puppetry in South Africa and you proven qualities which include leadership, operations and budgetary skills, then they want to hear from you.

Email a motivation letter and resume of your skills, experience and qualifications to: The Chairperson, Board of Directors, admin@unimasouthafrica.org

Closing Date for Applications: June 7, 2011. Interviews will begin on Monday June 13, 2011. The successful candidate may negotiate the starting date of this appointment.

Perform or come and watch

As part of the first HumanEarth exhibition showing at Wessel Snyman Creative at the moment, we're going to do a performance art event on Thursday evening from 6pm. We're still planning and arranging some of the 'acts', and anyone can take part.

As you might know already, the theme is around human interaction with nature - the ways that we either harm or help the natural environment - and the exhibition as well as event is aimed at promoting and initiating conversation and dialogue around this.

If you're interested in participating - either behind the scenes or as a performance artist, contact nastasha797@gmail.com or ecojunki@gmail.com

Viva for making things happen!!

First COPART Climate Fluency Exchange!

The first Connecting Our Planet & Re-imagining Together (COPART) Climate Fluency Exchange (CFE), scheduled from the 4th-10th December 2010, in Cape Town. The CFE aims to turn complex climate change information into accessible ways of knowing, as well as accessible practices in our lives. The CFE facilitates a transdisciplinary intersection between scientists and artists; activists and creatives as well as the general public.

This CFE is the first of seven scheduled between December 2010- December 2011, these are week-long social learning processes that facilitates creative and innovative participation and learning for artists, activists, scientists and the public. This event is also strategically scheduled to run concurrently with the COP16 climate negotiations in Cancun, Mexico. Activities, concepts, ideas, comments and other forms of communication will be sent to a parallel exhibition within COP16.

There will be interactive public activities scheduled for the weekend of the 4th-5th of December, which include public artworks and mobile installations/performances on trains, by the sea side, within the Company gardens and at Iziko Natural History Museum. The rest of the week we will offer a variety of different talks, presentations, film screenings & other showings of artworks/performances.

What makes this week different is that there will be facilitated artful processes that will encourage participants to explore various different artistic genres and "ways of knowing", the turn the information we will be exchanging, into real lived alternatives or practices.

If you would like to know more or find out details on how you can participate contact Dylan armadylan@gmail.com

The COPART CFE is kindly funded by:

Another CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

INFECTING THE CITY 2011: TREASURE

Seeking visual artists, designers, architects for a public arts project

Infecting The City – the Spier Public Arts Festival is themed ‘Treasure’ for 2011. The main aims of ITC are to turn the communal spaces of our City into stimulating, creative, truly public spaces, and to put socially engaged performance and art on the streets where they are accessible to everybody. The Festival (21 – 26 Feb), which gets high profile in the media, will overlap with the Design Indaba and will serve as a streetwise counterpoint to that event.

‘Treasure’ takes in various realms of preciousness: the weird and wonderful performance and musical expressions that underlie the rich cultural diversity of our society and that are seldom seen outside of the communities in which they originate; our heritage sites; and the barely visible workers that make the CBD function. A variety of artists are participating in these realms.

Another of the areas that we are drawing attention to is the vast quantity of valuable resources that are trashed in the City, resources that should be recycled and put to good use. Throughout the Festival week a large scale durational art happening will take place: a selection of artists from diverse backgrounds will work with discarded recyclable materials on the Cape Town Station Forecourt – a huge paved area traversed by thousands of people everyday. We are seeking artists who would like to join this project.

On the Station Forecourt on Monday 21 Feb garbage will be delivered from 5 different socio-economic zones (e.g. Constantia, Mitchells Plain, Gugulethu, Observatory, the CBD). In advance we will have approached citizens in the 5 selected areas and mobilized them to sort their garbage into recyclable components for 2 weeks or so.

Hence we will get 5 lots of garbage that speak to the demographics of consumption and wastage, kind of like an archaeological / anthropological dig into cross-sectional sectors of contemporary Cape Town society. It should provide material for interesting observation and commentary: who uses what; what does it say about lifestyles, diets etc? These demographic ‘Slices of Life’ will comprise mounds of glass, hard plastics, soft plastics, paper, metal etc.

We are putting together a collective of 6 - 8 artists from different backgrounds and with different skills to intervene with the assembled matter. The artists can tackle whatever material they like, sometimes in collaboration with one another, sometimes individually. Turning the 25-odd piles of waste into individual works over the course of the week.

The concept for this intervention is still in development. We aim to build a nuanced, punchy, intelligent framework that is accessible and stimulating to people from all walks of life. As one of the artists working on this intervention we would require you to do some preparation. It is important that the creations made out of this junk are rooted in rich conceptual ground, that they speak to concerns and critiques about our wasteful lifestyles. We are linking up with COPART – a collective of local artists and activists working around issues of climate change and holistic modes of living – and are exploring how best to make this resource available to the participating artists.

As a participant you’ll have the opportunity to get out of your studio and make provocative, socially-engaged works for 5 ½ days with a bunch of creative people on a public square with the mid-February sun smiling upon you; to engage with spectators and curious passersby; to be part of a buzzing, ground-breaking festival; and to be paid for the privilege. Are you up for it?

If this appeals to you please contact me with a CV by Friday 22 October.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Brett Bailey

Curator: Infecting The City

Email: brettbailey@thirdworldbunfight.co.za

It's going to be a fun green weekend!

The "Nature-minded Expression" event for the 350 Work Party event on Sunday is self-regulated, self-initiated and self-managed. You as artist or performer are fully responsible for your own 'piece'. The venue is the Celebrate Life festival which will be held at the River Club in Observatory, Cape Town. Remember that a strict No-Trace, No-Harm policy is being adhered to, so leave no trace, mark or residue and also do no harm to people, festival stalls, property or the area. Other than that, have fun and create awareness!!

Also remember to wear GREEN!



PLEASE HELP!

I need your help and participation for Saturday and especially Sunday! We're setting up a small space where people can join in and make things from 'waste materials' especially empty plastic bottles, milk cartons and other food packaging. So what we need is the following:

- You, please commit an hour or more of your time
- Tools like scissors and pliers
- Lots of creative ideas
- And of course any materials that you think we can use!

Please contact ecojunki@gmail.com - your help is needed to make this a success!

For more info on the festival
www.celebratelife.co.za



HUMANEARTH Exhibition #1

If you missed the HumanEarth Brainstorming session at Greatmore Studios in Woodstock, don't worry, you can still participate in the first exhibition! Planned to open on 27 November 2010 in Cape Town, this exhibition will feature new as well as existing work by local artists focused around human interaction with our planet. Send your information, ideas or images of your art to Nastasha Daniels at nastasha797@gmail.com.

Lots of things happening in the next two months!

There is several things happening in September and October around Cape Town, and we need as many people as possible to participate and work together! Here is two of the opportunities, and there are many others by local organizations and friends, that's listed on our latest newsletter:



On 10 October 2010 people from across the planet will be celebrating and participating in events centred around creating awareness and initiating change relating to global warming. For more information go to www.350.org and sign up for an event or happening. If you're an artist and based in Cape Town, join in by conceptualizing, creating and implementing/performing a public piece on 10 October 2010 that relates to global warming. We also need a couple of photographers interested in taking great images of the event! Email ecojunki@gmail.com

More information at www.350.org/node/17116.



Wear green to show your support and enthusiasm towards saving our planet and fighting polution and global warming! Tell all your friends, family and the guy behind you in the queue! The more of us who wears green on the 10th of October, the more awareness we'll be spreading.

See the latest newsletter here
Sign up for the mailing list here

Get involved, get creative

What do you love doing?

Do you love writing, doing performance art, taking photos, designing posters, drawing?

How would you love to make a difference and help our environment?

Ecojunki is looking for enthusiastic people to contribute towards raising
awareness for the ways in which we as humans are interacting with our natural
environment. Participation on all levels are encouraged - whether you want to
help with management, organizing, being creative, creating ideas, updating the
blog, telling people about the environment, or even help us hug and plant
trees!

How do I get involved?
Email something about yourself, the things you love doing, and the ways that you would love to get involved to ecojunki@gmail.com. Allow your imagination to run freely - ANYTHING goes. Be creative and lose your reservations and limitations! NO idea is too crazy.

350 participation

by Janet Botes

The 350 day of participation, coordinated by Communitree in Palmer Road, Muizenberg, was a huge success and an incredible event of note in the Western Cape.

Have a look at www.350.org to find out all about the 350 series of world-wide activism for our environment!! It's huge, it's happening and it's relevant. Oh, and it's also awesome, hip and cool.

So part of my contribution to the day of participation in Palmer road was the following:



An artistic, visual or participatory action or performance where two volunteers - Megan Collins and Mira Matthew - and voluntary participants were involved in creating an outline of leaves and glass pebbles (to keep the leaves from blowing away) around Mira's silhouette of her body.