DEEP LOCAL: a Micro-Symposium by the Green Sun

DEEP LOCAL:
a Micro Symposium by the Green Sun

Saturday, November 12, 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM

On Saturday, November 12th the Green Sun will host, DEEP LOCAL, its second micro-symposium of Philadelphia-based practitioners working to change the state and perception of energy and its systems. Participants will be led through a series of cooperative workshops and active discussions exploring the imaginative possibility of energy in Philadelphia and beyond. Contributors include Holobiont Lab, Nora Elmazouky (In-Site Collective), Bill Cozzen (Leader, POWER Climate Justice and Jobs) and Nancy Wygant (Co-Chair, POWER Climate Justice and Jobs) and representatives of Cesar Andreú Iglesias Community Garden.

“Deep local” is a term coined by permaculturist and self-proclaimed troublemaker Tom Ward that emphasizes engaging with a sense of place and the slow development of culture towards ecological revolution.

Lunch will be provided by Golden Dragon of West Philadelphia. All participants will receive a complimentary item of Green Sun ephemera.

$5 to register. Only 30 spots available.

Organizer Bios:

The Green Sun is a multifaceted project focusing on solar power and other renewable energy sources as both a practical technology and narrative elements to develop a healthier, more equitable world developed by Kristen Neville Taylor and Ricky Yanas. Since 2019, The Green Sun has organized a series of exhibitions and programs focusing on themes of technology, ecology, energy histories, community exchange, narrative strategies, and world building. Most recently, The Green Sun was invited by the Penn Program for the Environmental Humanities to host Solar Imaginaries: Play and Pragmatism in Energy Futures, a three-part program that brought together practitioners from environmental and creative sectors to re-envision the role of energy in our lives. 

Kristen Neville Taylor’s diverse practice combines drawing, sculpture, and glass which converge playfully in installation style environments. Her work considers the impact of the stories we tell about nature calling attention to the systems and events that establish definitions and shape public perception of the environment. She is a co-founder with Ricky Yanas of The Green Sun, a multifaceted project focused on the intersection of art and policy as they relate to the history of energy, energy democracy and possible energy futures. Taylor’s work has been shown at Vox Populi, the Woodmere Art Museum and the Philadelphia Art Alliance (Philadelphia), Pacific Northwest College of Art (Portland), Richard Stockton and Rowan University Art Galleries (New Jersey), and Expo Chicago. She has organized several exhibitions including Landscape Techne at Little Berlin, The Usable Earth at the Esther Klein Gallery, and she co-curated Middle of Nowhere in the Pine Barrens. Taylor is the recipient of the Laurie Wagman Prize in Glass, a RAIR Recycled Artist-in-Residence, and a Penn Program for the Environmental Humanities Artist-in-Residence.

Ricky Yanas is a Texas born artist, educator, and curator living in Philadelphia, PA. Working within a pragmatic tradition of problem finding, Yanas aims to create intersectional spaces of inquiry and mutual engagement through art making and art thinking. Recent projects include Extension or Communication: Puerto Rico at Tiger Strikes Asteroid Gallery, Philadelphia and Taller Puertorriqueno and The Green Sun, a collaboration with artist Kristen Neville Taylor. In 2016 Yanas founded Ulises Books with Nerissa Cooney, Lauren Downing, Joel Evey, Kayla Romberger and Gee Wesley. 

Contributor Bios:

Holobiont Lab is a working class, collaborative laboratory created in response to climate change and its many impacts across communities. They use a combination of practical strategies, wild experimentation, affordable tools, and creative interventions to enhance community sustainability and local resilience to climate crisis.

Nora Elmarzouky is a civic and intercultural engagement and community development specialist. She currently manages the Pew Center funded Friends, Peace, and Sanctuary Project at Swarthmore College, which brings resettled Syrian and Iraqi collaborators in conversation with book artists around questions of displacement, refuge, history and experience and exploring art’s capacity to build empathy and create a deeper sense of belonging while also activating archives.

POWER's Climate Justice and Jobs team works at the local and state levels to build racial and economic justice on a livable planet. POWER's Climate team works right at the intersection of racism, economic inequality, and climate crisis. Join this discussion to learn more about the campaigns, and opportunities for learning and action. You can find out more about POWER's Climate Justice and Jobs work here.

Cesar Andreú Iglesias Community Garden aims to preserve a space for the people. Through providing multigenerational activities for our community, creating harmony and balance with local ecosystems, and growing edible fruits and vegetables and plant medicine, we pay tribute to stolen land and develop a network of support for our future generations. The work of Iglesias Gardens builds and defends resilient communities.