I have a lot to digest after the intensive American Arts Incubator orientation retreat with ZERO1 in rainy San Francisco. Kate Spacek, Shamsher Virk and Michelle Peregrin provided valuable support and resources. Fellow AAI artists Balam Soto, Elaine Cheung, Scott Kildall and Nathan Ober offered much inspiration in their creative work and innovative plans for their exchanges focusing on water pollution, disability inclusion, economic equity and inclusive peace.
In April – May 2017 I will have the honor of collaborating with an exciting group of artists, activists and organizations in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. In partnership with our host organization, Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center, we will be developing a set of media projects focused on the challenges of Environmental Sustainability and Deforestation. Updates and feedback can be followed on our Exchange Facebook Page. By using collaborative video, augmented and virtual reality to layer memories and imagination onto the world around us, we will create time lenses that reveal pathways to a sustainable future.
After 30 traumatic years of war, Cambodia’s economy has been growing at one of the fastest rates in the world. In what ways can an improved standard of living be achieved while also increasing sustainability? Societies with modest energy and resource usage are actually already much closer to achieving this balance than high-use countries. Throughout the exchange we will practice renewable energy skills by powering the workshop and projects with solar power. Krousar Solar will be a key local resource for our solar power technology needs. Cambodian society has a great potential to develop the models that lead us to a sustainable world.
We will design the final exhibited projects to be self-sustainable entities that have their own built-in renewable power generators. What types of energy do the projects require? What power sources can be designed to sustain them? The balancing skills of sustainability are games that, if played well, can be won.
