Education
Air supports and facilitates research and education at the intersection of climate and creativity. Our educational efforts include: opportunities for research-based climate-focused artists to engage deeply with leading voices in the climate sector; working with artists and educators to facilitate creative sustainability-based workshops for children and teens in communities across Los Angeles; and speaking engagements in support of organizing efforts to shift paradigms of power.
Blue Roof Studios
Textile ReUse
2019
Blue Roof Studios is a multidisciplinary arts hub in South LA with a commitment to fostering and amplifying creativity, connection, and inclusion within the community. Their free annual festival celebrates the summer solstice while highlighting the richness and diversity of the arts in South Los Angeles and beyond.
In 2019, we supported a workshop by Barnsdall Arts with a focus on textile re-use. Young ones made summer solstice banners from scrap materials, and learned about additional ways they can creatively reuse materials at home. The festival welcomed over 450 people of all ages to see exhibits and performances, listen to music, enjoy free workshops and play along with the drum circle.
Beatriz Jaramillo
Ballona Discovery Park
2019
The wetlands are vital for many reasons: mitigating flood risk, rejuvenating rivers, and water purification to name a few. Artist Beatriz Jaramillo led a workshop focused on Ballona Wetlands, one of the last significant estuarine and freshwater wetland landscapes in coastal Los Angeles County, inviting young ones to join a guided walk with the artist, smelling, listening to and feeling the wetlands. A clay workshop followed, where attendees created clay wind chimes using pressed flowers from the wetlands landscape.
Athens Services
2018
AIR facilitated a site visit for twelve creative practitioners to visit waste management facility Athens Services, where the group learned about recycling techniques and cycles of waste.
Blue Roof Studios
Pacific Garbage Patch
2018
Blue Roof Studios is a multidisciplinary arts hub in South LA with a commitment to fostering and amplifying creativity, connection, and inclusion within the community. Their free annual festival celebrates the summer solstice while highlighting the richness and diversity of the arts in South Los Angeles and beyond.
In 2018, we supported a workshop by Barnsdall Arts with a focus on the Pacific Garbage Patch. Young ones made fish from recycled plastic water bottles as they learned about how to make ocean-friendly choices. The festival welcomed 60 artists, 30 artisans, and an estimated 450 festival goers from the community of Florence and across Los Angeles.
GRYD studio visits
AIR 2018 artists Rebecca Bruno, Nova Jiang and Debra Scacco spent an afternoon hosting studio visits with students participating in Mayor Garcetti’s Gang Reduction Youth Development (GRYD) Program. Students visited two downtown Los Angeles studios and the LACI campus to learn about varying ways professional artists work. The group discussed everything from how to generate ideas to life-long learning to the challenges of making a living as an artist.
