Chicago Artists Month: "The City as Studio" Theme and Cycle P15
Studios are places of alchemy. And transformation is indeed what happens when a nutrient becomes a pollutant, then becomes a nutrient again. The alchemists' media in this Chicago-area studio are the region's own precious natural resources.
Studios are places of collaboration. Cycle P15 brings together a novel collaboration of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, and independent professional artists, convened by Terracom, a pioneering green-communications firm pursuing new ways to convey, and engage people in, important environmental issues and advancements.
Studios are places of innovation. To think that recovering phosphorus from Chicago's and the region's waste stream and turning it into environmentally friendly plant food can be inspiration for a game. That such a game can be art in its own right. And that it can be a vehicle for building awareness of our natural resources, environmental challenges and solutions to them. And maybe even inspire action.
Studios are places to nurture new talent. Chicago teens work with professional artists, using science -- presented to them in-person by a scientist -- as inspiration for art. Not only can this nurture young artistic endeavors, but it can also pique curiosity through exposure to a scientist who is making a difference through her work.
