The Schuylkill Center For Environmental Education Hosts Feb. 9 Opening Of Slow-Burning Rapture, Artists As Storytellers Exhibition

On February 9, The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, Philadelphia’s first environmental education center, will hold a reception to open its newest art exhibition-- Slow-Burning Rapture-- from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Center, 8480 Hagy's Mill Road in Philadelphia.. 

Slow-Burning Rapture highlights artists as storytellers through artwork designed to make sense of our ecological future. 

The show features Tim Portlock, Talia Greene, Jordan Deal, Sarah Peoples, and Leslie Mutchler with Jason Urban (JULMstudios), who explore our relationship to the natural world through a variety of media including sculpture, installation, video, sound and 3D models. 

The exhibition explores the collective stories that continue to resonate as our planet evolves and our landscapes change. 

Slow-Burning Rapture is displayed in The Schuylkill Center’s on-site gallery, though the work of Talia Greene continues outdoors with a river-like installation created with woven electronic waste. 

"Slow-Burning Rapture takes the work we do in the environmental art department into new and exciting territory,” said Kristina Murray, director of environmental art at the Schuylkill Center. “In this exhibition, artists play the role of storyteller, philosopher, mythologist and alchemist - imagining the possibilities our ecological landscape could take and creating sensory worlds for our consideration."

The exhibit will run from February 9th through May 3, 2024. 

The exhibition is supported by the National Wildlife Federation and the Alliance for Watershed Education’s Art Work Group. 

The Schuylkill Center Environmental Art Department is supported by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

Founded in 2000, the Schuylkill Center’s Environmental Art Program offers new pathways to connect people and nature. 

The program has been shaped by hundreds of artists and community members and driven by the belief that the creative process is uniquely suited to address environmental topics. 

The Environmental Art Program is an alternative to traditional contemporary art venues, providing a living laboratory for creatives. 

The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education was founded in 1965 as Philadelphia’s first environmental education center. 

The Center’s 365 acres of fields and forests serve as a living laboratory to foster appreciation, deepen understanding, and encourage stewardship of the environment. 

It offers a wildlife rehabilitation clinic, an environmental art program, volunteer opportunities, and educational programs for all ages.

[Posted: February 7, 2024]  PA Environment Digest