More of us are realizing that in this era of change, what we do has a significant impact on the quality of our life on this planet.
In the Conversations with Paola series, we highlight the people who are doing something good for our blue planet.
When Albie Alexander, a Creative Director living on the beaches of L.A. began noticing that the sand was being taken over by microplastics, he knew it was time for an awakening.
“Conversations with Nature” is an art exhibition curated by Albie for Art Basel that uses immersive art and programming as a catalyst for changing the conversation around climate change.
Albie Alexander is a thoughtful creative who gets emotional when he thinks fondly on childhood memories spent outdoors. He says the experience of building a treehouse with his father embedded his love for the outdoors. That love fueled him to curate the Conversations with Nature exhibition at the Brickell City Center running during Miami Art Week 2019.
The Creative Director of 29Rooms pulled together various multimedia artists to examine our connection with nature through immersive artwork and programming throughout the open air shopping center.
What makes the show so impactful is the way it provides a pathway to inspire positive action in the fight against climate change. By bringing reclaimed trees, beach sand, moss, and ocean sounds inside, where we’re spending 93% of our lives, Albie invites us to remember our interconnectedness with nature. He gives us an opportunity to disconnect to reconnect to the natural world.
“Disconnect to reconnect to the natural world.”
The exhibition theme fits right into the open-air, sustainable design of the Brickell City Center where was shown through December 8th. Parts of the shopping center direct breezes off Biscayne bay down the middle of the structure and during rain, the roof channels and collects water for re-use throughout the development.
why an outdoor life is a better life
The author and
I can remember as a kid, spending all of the daylight hours outside, mostly in a swimming pool. Now, I’m cognizant of the risks of spending time outdoors no thanks to advertisements warning of skin cancer, poor air quality, polluted waters, and biting, stinging insects. Why have we become so scared of the outdoors?
According to a study in Harvard Health, an outdoor lifestyle promotes well-being, improves concentration, and activates Vitamin D that helps combat osteoporosis, cancer, depression and heart attacks. The sun, soil, sand, and sea all have elements of healing and if only we’d experience nature more, we’d have the opportunity to reap the rewards of a life outdoors.
Here at Ola’pi Creative, we believe it’s our disconnect from nature that is contributing to the worsening conditions of our planet. If we were to truly value nature for all of the benefits it provides, we would do more to protect what makes us feel so good.
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Conversations with Paola
Digitorial:
{The art inside Conversations with Nature: }
A series of installations and programming throughout the Brickell City Center during Miami Art Week 2019 invited visitors to experience interconnectedness with each other and the planet.
Here are some of the works from renowned and rising artivists…
Brooklyn-based Artist, Basia Goszczynska
Legacy Forest
Towering plinths created using marine debris and recycled materials as a reminder of the wastefulness of our daily habits and our over-consumptive culture.
The floor of Basia’s Legacy Oasis installation is covered by sand contaminated with microplastics, marine debris and beach toys that visitors are invited to collect in exchange for one of the artist's signed Rainbow Collections jars.
Floral Artist, Brittany Asch of BRRCH + Poet Yrsa Daley-Ward
Inner Landscapes
Behind the walls of the shopping center, an ethically sourced fallen tree is transformed into a surreal “fantasy tree”.
Adorned with varying flora and fauna, the tree comes to life with color and the voice of Mother Nature (Yrsa Daley-Ward) softly proclaiming “I am you”.
Greta Thunberg's #FridayForFuture ARTivism Studio
Conversations with Nature's ARTivism Studio will serve as a platform and creative space for visitors and locals alike to create their very own protest art for upcoming Fridays For Future Miami demonstrations or display as community art at BCC.
#FridayForFuture is a viral movement that began in August 2018 after Greta Thunberg sat in front of the Swedish parliament every school day for three weeks to protest against the lack of action on the climate crisis. It has since activated in countries around the World.
#FridayForFutureMiami holds climate strikes monthly to keep the conversation going.
Visitors and locals create their own protest art for upcoming Fridays For Future Miami demonstrations or display as community art at the Brickell City Center.
Miami International University of Art & Design (MIU) students, Raquel Zabib, Sinead Aleung, and Emily Gonzalen
Make Art Not Trash
Art, design, and fashion students produced original works at Conversations with Nature transforming recycling bins into a canvas of expression with the theme of environmental activism.
Extinction by Sinead Aleung examines the role bees play in restoring our land and food.
Underwater by Raquel Zabib repurposes fabric pieces to create a coral reef and make a statement about the wasteful practices of the fashion industry.
Elemental Haven
A space to discover the healing powers of nature through wellness workshops, deep breathing, music, and guided meditations around the themes of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.
“The world is waking up to climate change.”
Thanks to the imaginative vision of Albie Alexander and all of the participating artists, the climate and our planet had a voice during the year’s largest artistic statement, Art Basel. May art continue to wake us up and inspire us to take action for all that is good.
Paola Espitia, M.Sc. is a Speaker at Sea, Marine Conservationist, and an online personality using her voice to reconnect people to the life force of our planet: water.
To book her to speak or for collaborations, click below…
