Upcoming Art and Environment Events in Ottawa

Written by guest blogger Denise Deby, who writes on local and global social and environmental issues.

Sometimes a powerful image, song lyric or sculpture can convey more about the natural world and our place in it than any prose or statistics.   This month and beyond, Ottawa is hosting several artistic events related to the environment:

Exhibition: Nature into Sculpture
until Sunday, February 13, 2011
Canadian Museum of Nature, 240 McLeod St.

Works by members of the National Capital Network of Sculptors show how artists use nature as a source of inspiration and materials. See http://nature.ca/en/home for details and hours.

The Green Keys Tour – Frank Horvat, piano
Sunday, February 13, 2011, 4:00 pm
Freiman Hall, University of Ottawa, 610 Cumberland St., free admission.
Pianist, composer and teacher Frank Horvat performs original music inspired by Earth Hour, in a completely dark performance hall. His year-long cross-Canada tour supports the release of his CD “A Little Dark Music” and promotes eco-sustainability. A portion of proceeds from the sale of the CD goes to the World Wildlife Fund.

Phenomena
February 1-27 2011, Cube Gallery, 1285 Wellington St. W.
A group show featuring 8 artists exploring “the climatological, astronomical and geological events that can leave us awestruck, dumbfounded or sometimes cowering in our beds.” See www.cubegallery.ca for details and hours.

World Wildlife Fund Canada’s National Sweater Day
Thursday February 17, 2011
OK, not an art exhibit, but a chance to take action and raise awareness about global warming by wearing “a fun, funky sweater” and turning down your thermostat by 3 degrees. More information at http://wwf.ca/takeaction/sweater_day/ or http://www.facebook.com/WWFCanada.

Fibre Art and Wilderness Conservation
February 1 – March 31 and April 1-22, 2011
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society-Ottawa Valley and Wabi Sabi are partnering to raise awareness about Ontario’s wilderness. This includes a Woodland Window Display April 1-22 (to mark Earth Day) featuring the work of local crafters at Wabi Sabi, 1078 Wellington Street W. You can also sign up for crafting workshops at Wabi-Sabi or participate by creating your own woodland creature. Details at http://www.cpaws-ov-vo.org and www.wabi-sabi.ca.

Take Notice
January 28 – April 3, 2011
City Hall Art Gallery, 110 Laurier Avenue W., open daily 9:00 am-6:00 pm, free admission, wheelchair accessible, tel. 613-580-2424, ext. 28425, TTY 613-580-2401
Exhibit displays Paul Roorda’s hundreds of works on paper that were posted on downtown utility posts and left to weather, then retrieved and installed in the gallery. Details at http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/arts/galleries_exhibit/city_hall/index_en.html.

Also worth checking out is the City of Ottawa’s gallery and exhibit listings. If you know of additional artistic and environment-related events in Ottawa, please let us know.

As well, Ottawa is brimming with artists whose work deals with the natural world or who use ecologically sustainable materials. I’ve been thinking about doing a post on this, so if you know of any artists to include please do suggest these.