Arts and the Anthropocene: Crisis and Resilience in North Carolina Waterways (2020-2021)
This project team explored how visual, theatrical and sonic arts play a role in educating, provoking action and developing resilient futures in the Anthropocene, the current epoch of geological time dominated by human activity.
Team members examined how scientists and artists address social and ecological crises and entanglements, and constructed Spectral Seas, an art installation, depicting the scale of future sea level rise. Woven out of over 400 plastic bags collected from the Durham community, the tapestry features layers of color representing different NOAA sea level rise predictions for 2100. The team also incorporated multimedia video projections and sound to evoke the threat sea-level rise poses to humans and the environment.
Team members also used StoryMaps to showcase the science and local impacts of sea level rise, as well as their artistic process: Science of Sea Level Rise, Local Impacts and Crisis and Resilience in North Carolina Waterways.
Timing
Fall 2020 – Spring 2021
Team Outputs
Sea Level Rise in NC (2021 Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Virtual Showcase)
Science of Sea Level Rise, Local Impacts, Crisis and Resilience in North Carolina Waterways (StoryMaps)
Spectral Seas (Art installation)
This Team in the News
Research Methods and Creative Outputs from Interdisciplinary Teams
Duke Arts Partners with Bass Connections on “Arts in the World”
Highlights from the Bass Connections Annual Report: Seven Local Projects
Bass Connections 2020-2021 Annual Report: Selected Highlights
Spectral Seas: Tackling Climate Change Through Storytelling
Senior Spotlight: Reflections from the Class of 2021
‘In Conversation’ Returns This Spring to Unite Hearts Through Art
Image: Jonathan Henderson