Environmental Art at the Schuylkill Center

Don’t miss the opportunity to meet the artist of the sanctuary Al Mudhif Sarah Kavage @kavasar and Yaroub Al Obaidi @yaroubali! This Sunday 7/11 the artists and Director of Environmental Art Tina Plokarz @tinaplokarz will lead you for a special guided tour and tea ceremony with Arabic sweets. Register for Sowing Seeds - A Gathering through the link in our bio Artists during the grand opening at the Schuylkill Center. Photo by Ricky Yanas @rickyisnotavailable & Tina Plok...arz #almudhif #schuylkillcenter #schuylkillcenterart #environmentalart #mudhif #mudhifhouse #nature #ecoarchitecture #ecodesign #ceremonialhouse #iraq #alliance4watersheded #yaroubalobaidi #sarahkavage #artandhealing #phragmites #ecology

We had such a great time today with summer campers @schuylkillcenter as they spent time with the environmental art department learning all about our newest art installation and exhibit, Al Mudhif A Confluence! The campers worked together to weave mats in the same style as the roof of the Mudhif on our grounds. They asked amazing questions about the guest house’s history, use, and creation to artist Yaroub Al-Obaidi @yaroubali and the Director of Environmental Art, Tina Plo...karz @tinaplokarz Make sure to visit #almudhif and learn all about the Iraqi guest house in the gallery! #almudhif #schuylkillcenter #schuylkillcenterart #environmentalart #mudhif #mudhifhouse #nature #ecoarchitecture #ecodesign #ceremonialhouse #iraq #alliance4watersheded #yaroubalobaidi #sarahkavage #artandhealing #phragmites #ecology

Have you visited the mudhif at the Schuylkill Center yet? On Sunday, July 11th join the artists Sarah Kavage @kavasar and Yaroub Al Obaidi @yaroubali, and Director of Environmental Art Tina Plokarz @tinaplokarz for Sowing Seeds - A Gathering a special guided tour and tea ceremony. They will take us for an exploration through the gallery exhibition in conjunction with Al Mudhif - A Confluence and an Iraqi tea ceremony in the sanctuary guest house on our grounds. Sharing... space in Philadelphia, the artists will speak about the migration of plants and people. Mark your calendars for this exciting event! Admission is $10 per person ($5 for Schuylkill Center members). RSVP required through the link in our bio and learn more. Photo credit: Al Mudhif @schuylkillcenter, photo by Ricky Yanas @rickyisnotavailable & @zverinadotcom #almudhif #schuylkillcenter #schuylkillcenterart #environmentalart #mudhif #mudhifhouse #nature #ecoarchitecture #ecodesign #ceremonialhouse #iraq #alliance4watersheded #yaroubalobaidi #sarahkavage #artandhealing #phragmites #ecology The art project by Kavage and Al-Obaidi part of a larger art initiative @lenapehoking.watershed.art by the @alliance4watersheded. Major support for Lenapehoking~Watershed is provided by William Penn Foundation #williampennfoundation, and the Velocity Fund @thevelocityfund, the Knight Foundation @knightfdn, the Barra Foundation @barrafdn, and the National Wildlife Federation @nationalwildlife

#throwbackthursday Welcome Home was installed by artist Vaughn Bell alongside Schuylkill Center volunteers in 2013. In the creation of this installation, invasive species were removed and native ones were added. Welcome Home is still standing and houses 10 different native species that are now thriving - a home for flora and fauna as a way to protect and cultivate native plants that are easily overtaken by invasive ones. @schuylkillcenterart we seek to use land as more than... a canvas, but have art that benefits the spaces in which they lie. The installation Welcome Home is the perfect pairing of these ideals. Similarly, our current project Al-Mudhif - A Confluence embodies this idea. The mudhif uses phragmites, an invasive wetland grass, to build a guesthouse that has its origin in the wetlands of Mesopotamia (Southern Iraq). This project similarly is a means through which we can be better conserve and show stewardship towards native plants. #schuylkillcenter #schuylkillcenterart #environmentalart #mudhif #mudhifhouse #nature #ecoarchitecture #ecodesign #ceremonialhouse #artandhealing #phragmites #ecology #invasivespecies #vaughnbell

We’re still glowing from the wonderful opening on Thursday night of our latest art installation, Al Mudhif, an Iraqi guesthouse made from phragmites reeds. Conceived of and created by artist Sarah Kavage @kavasar and designer Yaroub Al-Obaidi @yaroubali, and built with Mohaned Al-Obaidi as well as the help of numerous volunteers, Al Mudhif is ready and waiting to welcome you on the grounds of the Schuylkill Center. It was a joy to have around 200 people gather on our Green i...n our first open, public event since the shutdown. The opening celebration was hosted by our very own Tina Plokarz @tinaplokarz, director of Environmental Art, and featured speeches by the artists as well as a land acknowledgment by Trinity Norwood @miss_trinityjune of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation and Native American lessons and music by Tchin @Tc.oh.yer. Chaplain Chris Antal @phlveterans finished off the evening with a blessing and ceremony in which veterans and Iraqi immigrants invoked the names of those lost to the war before leading a procession from the Green to the mudhifwhere lights were strung, the bar was open, food was served, and dance music played. Come visit this built sanctuary, a healing space for ourselves and nature, anytime the Center is open, and look for further events hosted there. Photos by @zverinadotcom and @rickyisnotavailable #Repost @schuylkillcenter with @make_repost #almudhif #schuylkillcenter #environmentalart #mudhif #invasiveplants #phragmites #memorial #refugees #events #@schuylkillcenterart #ecoarchitecture #ecodesign#ceremonialhouse #iraq#alliance4watersheded#yaroubalobaidi #sarahkavage#artandhealing #phragmites #ecology The art project by Kavage and Al-Obaidi part of a larger art initiative @lenapehoking.watershed.art by the @alliance4watersheded. Major support for Lenapehoking~Watershed is provided by William Penn Foundation #williampennfoundation. As well as by the Velocity Fund @thevelocityfund, the Knight Foundation @knightfdn, the Barra Foundation @barrafdn, and the National Wildlife Federation @nationalwildlife

Thank you so much @6abcactionnews for this feature on Al Mudhif! Watch the whole video through the link in our bio. Join us in person tonight for the opening ceremony of Al Mudhif - A Confluence at 7PM! Register at the link in our bio #schuylkillcenterart #schuylkillcenter #almudhif #environmentalart #mudhif #mudhifhouse #ecodesign #openingnight #phragmites #ecoarchitecture #alliance4watersheded #yaroubalobaidi #sarahkavage #lenapehokingwatershedart #williampennfoundation

Meet the second artist of Al Mudhif A Confluence: Yaroub Al-Obaidi @yaroubali Yaroub Al-Obaidi is an Iraqi designer, researcher and author. He has a master’s degree in design from the College of Fine Arts, University of Baghdad, where he taught design from 2004 to 2007. ... Immigrating to the United States in 2016, he received a second master’s degree in socially engaged art from the Moore College of Arts and Design in Philadelphia. He is currently a PhD. candidate in Communications Media at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, as well as co-founder and chief auditor for the project Friends, Peace, Sanctuary, and the founder of the first Arabic Journal in Philadelphia. Al Mudhif A Confluence creatively interweaves the process of reed construction with Al-Obaidi’s professional knowledge of mudhif traditions, materials and construction. The project will set a stage for intercultural dialogue for veterans from Native American, American and Iraqi immigrant communities to share experiences and discover their connections in a greater community of healing. As a recent immigrant from Iraq himself, Yaroub is optimistic thatAl Mudhifcan positively change communities for a better future while reshaping our socio-cultural biases towards invasive plant species. The art project by Kavage and Al-Obaidi part of a larger art initiative sponsored by the Lenapehoking~Watershed and the Alliance for Watershed Education. Major support for Lenapehoking~Watershed is provided by the William Penn Foundation, the Velocity Fund, the Knight Foundation, the Barra Foundation, and the National Wildlife Federation. Photo: @zverinadotcom #schuylkillcenter #schuylkillcenterart #environmentalart #mudhif #mudhifhouse #nature #ecoarchitecture #ecodesign #ceremonialhouse #iraq #alliance4watersheded #yaroubalobaidi #sarahkavage #artandhealing #phragmites #ecology #williampennfoundation #lenapehoking.watershed.art @lenapehoking.watershed.art @alliance4watershedEd @thevelocityfund @knightfdn @barrafdn @thevelocityfund @nationalwildlife

Meet the lead artist of Al Mudhif A Confluence: Sarah Kavage @kavasar Sarah Kavage is a Seattle-based visual artist and cultural organizer whose practice addresses place, ephemerality, and ecology. The foundation of her work combines social engagement, research and community organization, focusing on the interpretation of place through a lens of history, the environment and social justice, while raising awareness and healing places and people in the process. Simple in ...its material yet complex in its traditions and designs, the art installation Al-Mudhif offers a critical perspective on water ecology, restoration, and global migration. This sculpture is part of the larger art initiative @lenapehoking.watershed.art by the @alliance4watersheded, for which Kavage is creating 16 temporary installations from Delaware to Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Each installation will be a momentary response to the specific environmental conditions of each site and an invitation to reconsider our relationship invasive species while putting them into use. Don’t miss the Grand Opening on June 24 @schuylkillcenter (link in bio) Photos: Tina Plokarz #almudhif #schuylkillcenter #schuylkillcenterart #environmentalart #mudhif #mudhifhouse #nature #ecoarchitecture #ecodesign #ceremonialhouse #iraq #alliance4watersheded #yaroubalobaidi #sarahkavage #artandhealing #phragmites #ecology Major support for Lenapehoking~Watershed is provided by William Penn Foundation #williampennfoundation. As well as by the Velocity Fund @thevelocityfund, the Knight Foundation @knightfdn, the Barra Foundation @barrafdn, and the National Wildlife Federation @nationalwildlife

Special thanks to Charles Davis of @insider for the beautiful words and images, reporting on our new art installation Al-Mudhif (link in bio) We will celebrate the installation and exhibition with a grand opening on June 24 @schuylkillcenter Join us! RSVP in link in our bio. Grand Opening RSVP link in bio At the Schuylkill Center ... Featuring @kavasar, @yaroubali, @tc.oh.yer, @tagine.dream, @phlveterans @wearetheseeds_art, @combatpaper, @justseeds Article by Charles Davis, INSIDER: https://www.insider.com/refugees-and-war-veterans-building- #schuylkillcenter #schuylkillcenterart #environmentalart #mudhif #mudhifhouse #nature #ecoarchitecture #ecodesign #ceremonialhouse #iraq #alliance4watersheded #yaroubalobaidi #sarahkavage #artandhealing #phragmites #ecology The art project by Kavage and Al-Obaidi part of a larger art initiative @lenapehoking.watershed.art by the @alliance4watersheded. Major support for Lenapehoking~Watershed is provided by William Penn Foundation #williampennfoundation. As well as by the Velocity Fund @thevelocityfund, the Knight Foundation @knightfdn, the Barra Foundation @barrafdn, and the National Wildlife Federation @nationalwildlife

Goodbye to Rob Carter’s solo show Cultured Lands We are honored to have had these works in our space the past few months, and we hope you were able to check out the show in person. Here are some de-installation photos from today. It’s always bittersweet to take down a show, but we thought you might want a peak into the process. Thank you @get_robcarter! #schuylkillart #schuylkillcenterart #environmentalart #art #multimediaart #robcarterstudio #contemporaryart

Today, June 6th, is National Trails Day! Take a walk on our trails today and view changing environmental artwork along your path. This day causes us to reflect on the ever-inspring John Francis, an environmental activist born in Philadelphia who was moved to take deeper, personal action after an oil spill and other environmental issues in the 1970s. As an affirmation of his responsibility to our planet, he chose to stop using motorized vehicles and began walking wherever he ...went. A few months later, he took a vow of silence that would last seventeen years. During this time he earned aPh.D.in land management and traveled extensively, walking across the entire width of the lower 48 states of the USA as well as walking to South America, and much more. There is a lot more to learn about John Francis - we encourage you to visit https://planetwalk.org for more information on him and his mission. And, of course, take a long walk! #schuylkillart #schuylkillcenterart #environmentalart #art #multimediaart #walktheplanet #planetwalk #johnfrancis #environmentalactivist #blackenvironmentalists #nationaltrailsday

Hurry up! This is the last week to see Cultured Lands @theschuylkillcenter through Sat, June 5, featuring Rob Carter’s (@get_robcarter) recent explorations in the science of plants and early works around sustainable urbanization (in partnership with @westcollectionphl). We’re part of the solution! proclaims this year’s slogan on International Day for Biological Diversity, an effort that Rob Carter particularly shares in his video and drawing work Plant Writing. Biodiver...sity remains the answer to several sustainable development challenges. From nature-based solutions to climate, health issues, food and water security, and sustainable livelihoods, biodiversity is the foundation upon which we can build back better. View Rob Carter’s solo show Cultured Lands in person @schuylkillcenter through June 5th! COVID precautions such as masks and social distancing are required. You can also re-watch the artist talk at schuylkillcenter.org/art. #schuylkillart #schuylkillcenterart #environmentalart #art #multimediaart #robcarterstudio #contemporaryart #crops #internationalforbiologicaldiversity #biologicaldiversity