Ellen McMahon | An Ecology of Relationships: Art, Design and Environmental Agency
Ellen McMahon will trace the trajectory of her teaching career and creative practice through the lens of the generative relationships formed across multiple disciplines, with the community, and with generations of students in the School of Art.
She will discuss over a decade of collaborations with the Center for the Study of Deserts and Oceans (CEDO), a three-year interdisciplinary research and teaching project which culminated in the book, Ground|Water: The Art, Design and Science of a Dry River, and her current work on the effects of climate change on Arizona’s forests. Through these projects McMahon provides an opportunity for her students to experience firsthand the benefits of multidisciplinary approaches to complex environmental problems. In the process they develop a sense of their power and responsibility as agents of change as artists, designers, collaborators, and citizens.
This lecture will demonstrate how her own creative practice and student projects raise awareness about and catalyze a response to environmental risks, illuminate issues of environmental justice, and help us to imagine and work together toward more sustainable futures.
9th Annual My Arizona Lecture
November 18th, 3:30-4:45pm
Reception to follow
ENR2 Building, Room S107
Directly west of the 6th St. parking garage