Art & Environmental Protection Meet in Palm Bay Campus Event

View the Florida Today news article on the events.

Climate change. Water pollution. Deforestation.

Those are among the major environmental threats facing the world that need solutions – solutions that can only be found if people work together.

And art can play a role in making that happen.

That’s why Eastern Florida State College is partnering with the Brevard Cultural Alliance and the City of Palm Bay to host “The Art of Sustainability” initiative on the Palm Bay campus.

The Feb. 19 through March 18 event will feature a series of large sculptures, called kinetic art, gracing the shores of Lake Titan.

The sculptures, which rise up to 15 feet and respond to wind, water and solar heat, will serve as a focal point to generate a public discussion about ways to protect natural resources — and get people more involved in taking action.

The highlight of the initiative will be Feb. 19-21 with Family Fun Days activities and a Conservation in Motion Symposium featuring national and international environmental experts.

A key topic at the symposium will be the imperiled Indian River Lagoon, where pollution is poisoning marine life and raising serious concerns about the estuary’s possible ecological collapse.

All the events are free and open to the public. Here is the schedule:

• Saturday-Sunday (2/20-21) Family Fun Days: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm both days. Family Fun Days will feature interactive fun for all ages, environmentally-related exhibits, kinetic sculptures on display, an electric car show, food trucks and more!

• Friday-Saturday (2/19-20) Art of Sustainability Symposium with nationally-recognized speakers and scholars discussing issues tied to the environment and sustainability. Please reserve your free seat at theartofsustainability.org/symposium.

“If we expect to change the way in which we live, we must allow our young people to drive that change and who better than the students of EFSC,” said Neil Levine, executive director of the Brevard Cultural Alliance.

“A significant part of this initiative is to engage people countywide in a dialogue about our environment and how we can live in a sustainable manner. The grounds of the Palm Bay campus are a perfect setting for that dialogue.”

The sculptures were crafted by internationally-noted artists Ralfonso Gschwend from Switzerland, Jeff Kahn from Philadelphia, Lin Emery from New Orleans, and Tom Brewitz from Minneapolis.

All the works have been displayed at major art museums across the nation.

Family Fun Days will include kite building and flying, eco-friendly food displays, hybrid and electric vehicles, solar and wind initiatives and more.

The Friday and Saturday symposium speakers will include Chad Pregracke, who received CNN’s 2013 Hero Award for work to restore the Mississippi River; Marty Baum of the Waterkeeper Alliance, an international organization dedicated to protecting global water resources; and Keith Winsten, executive director of the Brevard Zoo.

“We hope the community will come and support this initiative which is not art for art’s sake, but the placing of art at the heart of the community as an agent of change,” said Levine.

For more information, visit https://www.theartofsustainability.org/