On Tuesday (3/20), internationally recognized bio-artist Shu Lea Cheang is helping us kick-off our crowdfunding campaign to build the NATURE Lab Environmental Education Center!
Come celebrate the first day of Spring with NATURE Lab and Shu Lea Cheang! Cheang’ will present a Mycelium Network Society workshop and we’ll have a mushroom-themed community potluck. 6-8 PM.
With the help of a few generous individuals and a NYS Department of Environmental Conservation grant we’ve already raised $40,000 of the $100,000 required to purchase and renovate a vacant building on our 6th Avenue block into an urban environmental education center — with a full science lab.
As NATURE Lab prepares to set down roots as a hub for climate action, creative STEM-learning projects, and bio-art, Shu Lea will describe how supportive systems of artists and organizations is like growing a Mycelium network!
Who is Shu Lea Cheang?
Shu Lea Cheang is a multi-media artist working within the field of net-based installation, social interfaces and film production. Her net installation works were commissioned and permanently collected by the Walker Art Center (Bowling Alley, 1995), NTT[ICC], Tokyo (Buy One Get One, 1997) and the Guggenheim Museum (Brandon, 1998-1999). She made two theatrical feature films, Fresh Kill, which premiered at Berlin film festival in 1994 and was included in Whitney Biennal (New York) in 1995; another film, I.K.U., produced by Tokyo’s Uplink Co., was premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2000. In 2007, she launched MobiOpera, commissioned by the Sundance Film Festival for its New Frontier program, a public cinema collective made with mobile phones. (Source: Brooklyn Museum.)
What Is Bio-Art?
The term “bio-art” refers to the practice by contemporary artists working with living systems, sustainable practices, and using biological techniques and materials to produce art. Bio-artists have been involved with NATURE lab since its start, using their creative talents to beautify our community and inspire community action.