The Artists’ Showcase at the Fleet Science Center was the culmination of Art for Planetary Health, the Fleet’s year-long initiative to raise awareness on the topic of environmental health and its relation to human health.
With support from the Prebys Foundation, five creatives, one from each of the Fleet’s partner communities – San Ysidro, National City, Barrio Logan and two neighborhood clusters in Southeastern San Diego – engaged their communities on projects highlighting the importance of planetary health and the impact of our actions on the environment.
For Our Sacred Planet, Claudia Rodriguez-Biezunski invited members of her Barrio Logan community to make a textile art tapestry. “Textile production is the world’s second most polluting industry, but we can push back. Repairing our own clothes, shopping second hand, these are small changes we can make to keep our planet healthy,” shared Claudia.
Yvette Roman’s letters to mother earth / cartas a la madre tierra featured written messages on hand-made paper infused with seeds from native plants. San Ysidro community members created the letters through a series of educational workshops, which encouraged participants to explore their relationship with nature, identify what aspects of the Earth brings them joy, and reflect on how they care for it.
As guests walked through her Landscape Labyrinth, artist Kline Swonger explained how community members in National City learned about cyanotypes, an eco-friendly contact print made through sunlight sensitive chemicals. “These rocks hold stories of Earth’s history, and the prints capture unique plants within our landscape,” she continued. “I was really excited by this call as it incorporates three of my passions, which are art, people and the environment.”
La Raza Webb of Southeastern San Diego “wanted to explore the symbiotic relationship between the Afro hair, strand and water. This work is a deep dive into how a dominant gene expression is impacted by the hydrogen bond in water and how our daily personal hair care practices have a major impact on water quality today.” Through visual art, sound and interactive elements, La Raza’s Water Mane Art Experience created a dialogue about hair science from the past, the present and into the future.
StarDust, a multi-media production featuring music, rap, breakdancing, and film elements, was performed by Founder Dawud Hasan, Co-Founder Ivan Cofey, and community members from Southeastern San Diego in the Heikoff Giant Dome Theater. When interviewed, Dawud shared that “This opportunity meant a lot for us in the community.”
“Sharing the very fact that we are all stardust, that is our mission and aim,” Ivan added. “The iron in your blood, the oxygen you breathe, all these elements were, or can be traced back to stars that died long ago.”
Illustrator Tony Washington, who collaborated on the designs and a StarDust graphic novel and film, chimed in that, “for me it is a really great opportunity and honor to be a part of something like this. It is incredible that our own community is doing outreach like that for creatives our size it is. It is very impressive.”
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