Sunday, July 26, 2015
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Saturday, February 28, 2015
San Francisco bans plastic water bottles
Last March, San Francisco become the first major U.S> city to ban plastic water bottles. "The American Beverage Association, which includes Coca-Cola Co. and
PepsiCo, said in a statement that the ban was “nothing more than a
solution in search of a problem. This is a misguided attempt by city
supervisors to decrease waste in a city of avid recyclers.”
Read the story here.
Read the story here.
Water Symposium at the Mulvane Art Museum
article originally published in the Washburn Review
February 24, 2015
by Anamika Das
February 24, 2015
by Anamika Das
The U.S Department of Arts and Culture, a non-governmental organization for artists, helped organize a symposium exhibition, Drift and Drag: Reflections on Water, to explore and discuss water related issues in the state of Kansas on Feb. 20, in the Mulvane art museum.
The event was divided into two halves. The first half focused upon scientific, statistical and political data and information about various water related issues and problems. Information regarding river basins and the distribution and policies related to water in eastern and western Kansas separately were discussed in detail. Also, a small discussion was focused upon funds and financial aid dedicated to water policies and plans in the state. However, the latter part concentrated on the impact of artists and their work on policy making.
The U.S department of Arts and Culture is an organization that helps people gather together and discuss about the integration and role that art can play in building up of policies. Various art forms considered by the organization include poetry, paintings, drawings and stories. “Culture is the most powerful, yet an underused resource in the country,” said one of the members in charge in the event.
The second half of the symposium essentially concentrated on organizing a smaller scale gathering similar in form to larger main galleries. The attendees present in the symposium were divided into groups and were given instructions on composing a poem of three lines. Each member was instructed to contribute to the composition with one memory related to water, one question that arises in the mind relating to water as well as a solution to a water related issue. At the end of the activity, several poems were composed and read out in front of all the attendees present. After the activity, attendees were asked to share their experience.
“As a child, I had an unspoilt and unlimited image of water and as I was composing the poem, I realized how different the grown up images are,” said one of the attendees at the symposium. The symposium was also accompanied by exhibits of various video stills, graphical paintings, movie stills and photographs. As the attendees moved around the room, admiring the stills and photographs, a female dance troop presented a contemporary dance performance with the movements and steps choreographed on sounds of waves, ripples and droplets. The audience, members and event organizers highly praised the performance in particular and the event as a whole.
Sarah, an attendee of the symposium, said, “The dance was the best, followed by everything else being second bests. I hope we have more of such creative symposiums that helps clarify vague existent policies.”
The event was divided into two halves. The first half focused upon scientific, statistical and political data and information about various water related issues and problems. Information regarding river basins and the distribution and policies related to water in eastern and western Kansas separately were discussed in detail. Also, a small discussion was focused upon funds and financial aid dedicated to water policies and plans in the state. However, the latter part concentrated on the impact of artists and their work on policy making.
The U.S department of Arts and Culture is an organization that helps people gather together and discuss about the integration and role that art can play in building up of policies. Various art forms considered by the organization include poetry, paintings, drawings and stories. “Culture is the most powerful, yet an underused resource in the country,” said one of the members in charge in the event.
The second half of the symposium essentially concentrated on organizing a smaller scale gathering similar in form to larger main galleries. The attendees present in the symposium were divided into groups and were given instructions on composing a poem of three lines. Each member was instructed to contribute to the composition with one memory related to water, one question that arises in the mind relating to water as well as a solution to a water related issue. At the end of the activity, several poems were composed and read out in front of all the attendees present. After the activity, attendees were asked to share their experience.
“As a child, I had an unspoilt and unlimited image of water and as I was composing the poem, I realized how different the grown up images are,” said one of the attendees at the symposium. The symposium was also accompanied by exhibits of various video stills, graphical paintings, movie stills and photographs. As the attendees moved around the room, admiring the stills and photographs, a female dance troop presented a contemporary dance performance with the movements and steps choreographed on sounds of waves, ripples and droplets. The audience, members and event organizers highly praised the performance in particular and the event as a whole.
Sarah, an attendee of the symposium, said, “The dance was the best, followed by everything else being second bests. I hope we have more of such creative symposiums that helps clarify vague existent policies.”
Monday, February 23, 2015
Imagining Water
On February 20th as a part of the Drift & Drag symposium, agents from the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture led attendees in a collaborative Imagining about water. Participants gathered in small groups and reflected on three prompts:
Water everywhere, water nowhere
Cherish its beauty, cherish its value
Protect it, conserve it
Pay for what it’s worth
Think as you drink
With the red light at night
As the waves crash the shore
We are one with the sea
Our shared Breath; once adored
Unfortunately now – no more
Wading in the cold fast water at night
Floating on the bay, no land in sight
Images of childhood, water would always be alright
Power of water, fear of ice
And its absence, parched fields no rain.
Accepting the forces and cycles of nature,
Acting to help sustain them
Fear of abundance and emptiness
Conflict of being seventy percent contained
Thirst of fulfillment
Traveling by canoe on the river to KC
The murkiness of the water
Reflects the lack of policies
Water provides life
Water takes life
Water is life
Memory playing in place
Disconnect rift adrift no feel
Celebrate in spirit, sink or swim
Tradition of body-meets-water
Demonstrate the wise example
Connection education awareness community
Admitting failure but not despairing
Water connects us all
Failure to honor the water leads to dune
Thank you to the staff of the Mulvane Art Museum, Marguerite Perret and all of the participant poets.
- a memory of water
- a question in relation to water issues
- an action or solution that addresses a water related issue
Water everywhere, water nowhere
Cherish its beauty, cherish its value
Protect it, conserve it
Pay for what it’s worth
Think as you drink
With the red light at night
As the waves crash the shore
We are one with the sea
Our shared Breath; once adored
Unfortunately now – no more
Wading in the cold fast water at night
Floating on the bay, no land in sight
Images of childhood, water would always be alright
Power of water, fear of ice
And its absence, parched fields no rain.
Accepting the forces and cycles of nature,
Acting to help sustain them
Fear of abundance and emptiness
Conflict of being seventy percent contained
Thirst of fulfillment
Traveling by canoe on the river to KC
The murkiness of the water
Reflects the lack of policies
Water provides life
Water takes life
Water is life
Memory playing in place
Disconnect rift adrift no feel
Celebrate in spirit, sink or swim
Tradition of body-meets-water
Demonstrate the wise example
Connection education awareness community
Admitting failure but not despairing
Water connects us all
Failure to honor the water leads to dune
Thank you to the staff of the Mulvane Art Museum, Marguerite Perret and all of the participant poets.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
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