Art, Science, and Advocacy: An Invitation to Engage!

"For most of history, man has had to fight nature to survive; in this century he is beginning to realize that, in order to survive, he must protect it." -  Jacques-Yves Cousteau

"The Gloucester community has a long relationship with the sea. It is the garden in which its people have labored and through its bounty, have thrived for generations. Artists, writers, and lovers of the natural world have celebrated the eternal presence and symbolic power of the granite cliffs and churning seas that surround this special place. We are being called to protect what we love.

Mankind and the environment are at a critical impasse. Human activity is subjecting the natural world to stresses that threaten to bring it to a tipping point. Our relationship with the natural world is out of balance. Individuals engaging and interacting, working together, and even disagreeing with each other are the human activities which can provide answers to this challenge and which, with concerted global implementation, can bring about change.

Where do you stand on the complex issue of the health of the environment? Are the problems real or are we misled by environmental alarmists? Is it enough to leave the debate and difficult search for answers in the hands of others? Is there an interest in our community in contributing to the dialogue or making an impact on the issue? As artists, do we choose to use the power of our creativity to give voice to those who cannot speak for themselves?

This year the NSAA enters a bold partnership with Ocean Alliance and Rocky Neck Art Colony to examine the health of our immediate environment; the ocean and its inhabitants.

North Shore Art Association's "Art Exhibition of the Sea and Science", scheduled for June 17 through July 20, 2016, promises to be a groundbreaking alliance between Cape Ann's art and science communities. Among the speakers will be Dr. Roger Payne, Founder and President of Ocean Alliance; Mrs. Roger Payne; Dr. Ian Kerr, D.H.L.,Chief Executive Officer of Ocean Alliance; and Karen Ristuben, artist and President of Rocky Neck Art Colony. This timely and newsworthy art exhibition, performance art, and scientific speaker series will seek to harness the energies of our community using the power of art, scientific inquiry, and advocacy to generate awareness, stimulate dialogue, change perception, and inspire positive change around the pressing ocean environment issues.
Less than 4% of the ocean is protected in any way, but as much as the forests are the lungs of the planet, the ocean is its blue heart. Marine protected areas maintain healthy biodiversity, provide a carbon sink, generate life giving oxygen, and preserve critical habitat. Earth's atmosphere and its oceans are entwined in a  co-dependent bond and we, the inhabitants of the land, will experience the results of their health for good or for ill.

Please join in our efforts to use the power of art to highlight the issues endangering the Earth's beautiful blue heart. Advocate for the voiceless."

-NSAA artist member and guest contributor, Christine Whalen-Waller

"It is a curious situation that the sea, from which life first arose should now be threatened by the activities of one form of that life. But the sea, though changed in a sinister way, will continue to exist; the threat is rather to life itself." - Rachel Carson, The Sea Around Us

North Shore Arts Association of Gloucester

Ocean Alliance

Rocky Neck Art Colony