SUMMER LAKE, Ore.– The science and wildfire and water, as relayed by Oregon State University Extension Service regional fire specialists, influenced “Wildfire+Water: Artists & Scientists Collaborating for Change,” a forthcoming artist exhibition in Lake County.
Last fall, PLAYA at Summer Lake, which has supported new works and collaborative efforts in the arts and sciences through a residency program since 2011, hosted nine artists to explore wildfire and water storytelling.
The scientists involved were OSU Extension’s Ariel Cowan and Katie Wollstein, who spent several days with the cohort talking about wildfire on Oregon’s high desert rangelands and forests – its ecology, what drives it and the challenges to manage it.
The artists from the residency will exhibit work on April 26-27 at PLAYA. Wildfire+ Water ranges from visuals and spoken words to dance and interactive games. Local middle- and high-schooler students and educators, media and the public are invited to the exhibit and symposium.
“Oregon State Extension is uniquely situated in both science and education,” Wollstein said. “Our goal was to help them better understand the role of fire in that specific spot. Artists can communicate about complex topics and communicate in mediums that reach new audiences. This provides further opportunities for engagement and helps tell the story.”
Wollstein and Cowan provided insights in fire management techniques and terminology as well as how rangelands are affected by these fires. Many of the artists became fluent in these scientific terms over the course of the workshops, Wollstein said.
“I was impressed with the gain in knowledge, in a technical sense,” she said. “Seeing the change in understanding was very special.”
Wollstein and Cowan helped lead a tour of the Chewaucan Watershed, in collaboration with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Lakeview District Office and the Lake County Umbrella Watershed Council. The Chewaucan Watershed burned in many of the region’s major wildfires in recent years.
Oregon-based artists, including Kathleen Dean Moore, author and Distinguished Professor of philosophy at OSU, comprised the majority of the artists in the “Wildfire and Water” residency.
“It was amazing how many shared values came out of this experience,” said Kris Norris, executive director of PLAYA. “The processes are very similar in art and science and yet scientists and artists rarely collaborate. When people stay in the same place and are infused with the natural science assets that are around PLAYA to inspire this type of ‘cross pollination,’ collaborations might start happening, creating positive outcomes for environmental change.”
