In celebration of Earth Day on Friday, April 22, the Parrish Art Museum presents a panel discussion exploring the relationship between water quality, cultural practices, and environmental activism on the East End. Danielle Hopson-Begun, of the Shinnecock Kelp Farmers, marine scientist Gaelin Rosenwaks, and artist Kathleen J Graves are the panelists who will bring perspectives from the visual arts, Indigenous environmental restoration, and marine biology research.
The talk, which begins at 6 PM and includes an audience Q&A, is moderated by Senior Curator of ArtsReach and Special Projects Corinne Erni.
Danielle “Munnannock” Hopson-Begun is a tribal member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation and a member of Shinnecock Kelp Farmers — a multigenerational collective of six Indigenous women addressing the climate crisis. Kelp cultivation is a nature-based climate mitigation strategy that draws on the Shinnecock tradition of using seaweed. Through the cultivation and harvesting of sugar kelp in Shinnecock Bay, their goals are the restoration of the bay and creation of an environmentally friendly fertilizer from the matured kelp. Using a range of skills that exist within its community, the Shinnecock Nation is building the first Indigenous-owned and operated kelp hatchery on the east coast.
Marine scientist, explorer, photographer, and filmmaker Gaelin Rosenwaks began her career at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution conducting research in Antarctica and earned her master’s degree in Coastal Environmental Management from Duke University researching Giant Bluefin Tunas. Alarmed by the changes in the oceans, Rosenwaks founded Global Ocean Exploration Inc. to share her passion for ocean exploration, marine conservation, and storytelling. She now participates and conducts expeditions in every ocean to inform the public about the challenges facing the oceans, and efforts in science to understand these changes.
Kathleen J Graves is an artist and photographer whose work, based on her love of nature and technology, reflects changing weather patterns worldwide and flooding in the Long Island area where she resides. For her Bot Studies, Graves builds 3D objects by using organic elements and re-purposing throwaway materials and electronics. Based on science and its discoveries about AI, the Bots become a species with their own intentions, abilities, ideas, and purpose; and reference how we live, what we manufacture and buy, what we forget about and throw away. In her work, Graves tries to bridge the divide between our alienation from technology’s forms and our ability to humanize them.
Advance ticket purchase with pre-event registration is recommended. Visit parrishart.org.