Home Places

 

Doug Aberly writes, "As a collective entity we have lost our languages, forgotten our songs and legends, and now cannot even conceive of the space that makes up the most fundamental aspect of life - home." How would it change things, if we truly came home to the places we inhabit? The ancient, informing experience of home regions has been replaced around the world by arbitrarily drawn borders and overlapping jurisdictions that bear no relationship with the watershed. On the Islands, a host of agencies preside over the future, with an array of conflicting agendas. And while borders and territories proliferate, never have we been more inextricably linked with the whole globe. The food we eat, the clothes we wear, and the consumer goods we covet all link us with people and environments around the world.

 

Artists have called people home in a number of ways, including Maps and Mapping, sharing stories about food and medicine in the world around us, and drawing attention to seasons and cycles.

 

Basia Irland initiated a project called "A Gathering of Waters: Rio Grande, Source to Sea.” This five-year long grassroots project developed to increase awareness of the plight of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo and connect people along the 1,875 mile length of the river. The resulting sculpture and video documentary served to raise consciousness about the rich cultural diversity that exists among the communities along the river and to establish a dialogue and common ground for discussion on water issues. http://www.greenmuseum.org/c/enterchange/artists/irland/

This article describes some of Irlands's other water projects: http://research.unm.edu/quantum/waterlibrary.html

 

Suzanne Lacy, "Latitude 32° – Navigating Home"

 

http://www.communityarts.net/readingroom/archivefiles/2003/10/latitude_32_nav.php

 

"This project focuses on creating civic discourse on the future of Charleston, S.C., and the region. Artist Rick Lowe and I are working with regional grassroots and institutional leaders and teachers to contribute to the progressive discourse and daily life of residents in the area. They are grappling with a complex of interrelated issues: property ownership (seen through the lens of land and housing), family (seen in representations of heritage that fuel the region's economy) and education (especially public education of youth)."