- This event has passed.
Forensic River: Community Science & Water Justice with Isidora Fernandez
July 12, 2023 @ 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm EDT
Forensic River is a workshop with artist Isidora Fernandez where we will present a case for protecting life in our streams and rivers. We will also share the various methods of testing water we are involved in at NATURE Lab. We will ask participants to help us make strong arguments for the protection our waterways! This workshop is for all ages open to everyone!
In this public workshop, artist Isidora Fernandez uses the facilities at NATURE Lab to further understand the injustices of the legacy of urban industrial pollutants such as sewage contamination and microplastics. Part of Fernandez’s month-long residency at NATURE Lab, this workshop compliments our Water Justice Lab Source to Estuary Program and contributes to our growing NEA-supported Sanctuary Eco-Art Trail project.
Isidora Fernandez studied social communication (PUC), graduated in Ecotourism Management (UNAB) and did a Masters degree in Scientific, Medical and Environmental Communication at UPF-BSM. During the last years, she worked coordinating the Arts&Science department of Science For Change as creative producer, developing exhibits, designing science experiences, participatory workshops and creative data collection methodologies for citizen science studies.
Science For Change is a Spanish organization based in Barcelona. They work on citizen science projects, promoting collaborative science.
This event is a collaboration between the iEAR Presents series with support from RPI’s ARTS department and School of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, and from the New York State Council for the Arts/ NYSCA, with The Sanctuary for Independent Media.
Program background: Isidora Fernandez is our first Rubin Family Foundation Artist Resident at NATURE Lab. She will be in residence between June 21-July 21 2023 to work with the North Troy community. This residency will help lay the foundation for the future of NATURE Lab in North Troy by creating collaborative partnerships and programs that lead to creative solutions around our mission for social and environmental justice.
NATURE Lab has distinguished itself as a space that embraces the interdisciplinary areas of art and science. These art/sci practices place a distinct focus on an experiential engagement with life, seeking to catalyze innovative collaborations that draw attention to aspects of the natural world that might otherwise go unnoticed. This area of art/sci thinks about the role of science in society, how we can all get involved, what stories we tell, and how to actively integrate social reflection and critical awareness.
NATURE Lab Coordinator, Kathy High, will lead this new initiative. This program promotes artists whose work focuses not just on art and science, but also on some aspect of the political moment we are in, acknowledging racial and environmental justice issues. Our focus this summer will be on Troy water quality.
On July 12 we will host a public workshop lead by artist Isidora Fernandez using the facilities at NATURE Lab to further understand the injustices of the legacy of urban industrial pollutants such as lead and microplastics.
We are committed to lowering the barriers to access for events at The Sanctuary for Independent Media. For people who are hard of hearing or deaf, blind or low-vision, or whose physical limitations can interfere with a satisfying experience, let us know two weeks in advance so we can make appropriate arrangements.
Google Calendar 
