Ohio State Marion hosts sustainability exhibit in gallery
The Wayne & Geraldine Kuhn Fine Arts Gallery in Morrill Hall will present the informational gallery exhibition “Sustainability Stories” April 11-May 31, 2024.
The exhibit, which is funded by The Ohio State University Sustainability Institute, will hold a free public opening reception on Thursday, April 11, 12:30 p.m.
According to Ohio State Marion Assistant Dean and exhibit organizer, Leslie Beyer-Hermsen, the idea for our Inaugural Sustainability Exhibit came from a New York Times article on January 1st this year on Climate Museum Pop-Ups in SOHO.
“With the wealth of information that The Ohio State University has available to present on such a timely topic as climate, particularly in the context of sustainability, it made sense that we might want to create our own pop-up museum in our art gallery—just in time for Earth Week,” Beyer-Hermsen explained.
“I approached our faculty and staff to which I received an overwhelming response including providing student research, art, and literary pieces, as well as their own. In addition, we have one community partner this year, The Marion Microfarm Project who contributed information for the exhibit,” said Beyer-Hermsen.
“We've been thrilled at the outpouring of support and participation putting this exhibition together—it speaks to the culture of sustainability that exists on this campus and even outside of it” said exhibition collaborator and Ohio State Marion Professor of English, Ben McCorkle.
“Ultimately, we hope people come away from this experience mindful of the role they play in cultivating sustainable practices in their larger communities,” McCorkle added.
Organizers shared that visitors to the gallery will experience a collection containing various artifacts, including art, poetry, research, and documentation of community projects, all of which address sustainability.
While each display in this gallery might come from a different perspective—anthropology, the biological sciences, fine art, poetry, the citizen agriculture movement—these are all, in their own way, stories. Stories of possible futures grounded in sustainable practices. Stories of quiet inspiration borne out of observing nature. Stories of exploration into the problems plaguing our biosphere. Stories of purposeful hands turning soil so that we might better feed the bodies and souls of ourselves and others.
Sustainability Stories is curated to reflect a series of loosely interconnected themes. As visitors continue clockwise along the opening west wall of the gallery, they will first encounter the section we call “Laying Down Roots,” a group of pieces reflecting the history of our interactions with the land and the impact those practices have on us today and in days to come. Turning the corner, guests next see the section we call “Spreading Seeds,” a notion to be taken as both metaphorical (the movement of people, idea, cars, and bicycles) and literal (as in the practice of making seed bombs), resulting in changes to our habits and our natural spaces. As gallery guests move toward the recessed corner of the gallery, they’ll encounter “New Growth,” a collection of pieces depicting the idea of rebirth and new beginnings. Exhibit attendees will then find the section “Digging Our Own Future,” which showcases displays of how we have taken matters into our own hands, so to speak, to produce our own food while helping maintain healthy soil, water, and wildlife. Lastly “Watershed,” hopes attendees will contemplate a critical point marking a change in course of our mindset and habits regarding our use of natural resources.
The goal of the Sustainability Stories is to inform, inspire, and call to action,” said Beyer-Hermsen. The hope is that the exhibit will inspire individuals who come through the gallery to find ways to insert themselves over the next year and into the future in some of these initiatives,” she added.
“Our intention is to build next year’s Sustainability exhibition off of the said initiatives, including highlighting campus and community sustainability collaborations,” Beyer-Hermsen said.
The Wayne and Geraldine Kuhn Fine Arts Gallery serves the The Ohio State University at Marion students, faculty, staff and the Marion community. The gallery is located off the main lobby at the east entrance of Morrill Hall located at 1465 Mount Vernon Avenue, Marion, Ohio 43302. The gallery is free and open to the public.