ART AS ENVIRONMENT – Urban Metabolism. Approaches on the Ecology of Cities
26 / 11 / 17
‚Art as Environment: A Cultural Action at the Plum Tree Creek‘ is a project that curator Wu Mali and Bamboo Curtain Studio have developed since 2009 to help the Zhu-Wei neighborhood get an understanding for their Plum Tree Creek which has gone through a dramatic change. The first phase of the project was to raise awareness for pollution and water flow issues caused by neglect. We used art as an interventive measure to promote collaborative potential between professionals, the community, the public sectors, to, via research and dialogue, lead residents to get reacquainted with their environment, and to reclaim the ownership over their natural resources. A series of cultural actions by more than 60 local and international artists, curators, professionals and NGOs brought multiple stakeholders together. We have now reached more than 80,000 participants. After receiving much local and global recognition as a prototype of eco-art action, local residents, government and schools now realize the value of their local history, the compromised ecology and the pressure from over-development. After ten years, we have accumulated much data. We are now planning ‚Plum Tree CreekSchool‘, and are seeking funding and new collaborators, to use art as a catalyst employed in fun participatory projects, and to attract wider sections of the community to jointly be a voice for change in their environment.
