Fort Collins is an environmentally strong and progressive city in many aspects. ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability said that Fort Collins is “a beacon of exemplary sustainability efforts.” The art community also holds a powerful and robust presence in Fort Collins, from art in public places to galleries and small artists at the regularly held local farmers’ markets.
Alpine Arts Collective is taking a step toward combining these two strong suits by serving as the intersection for these two communities/matters and bringing environmental art to the forefront of Fort Collins. As stated on their home website, their mission “is to connect humans and nature through art.”
“For a long time, I have had two loves, dance and the environmental sciences,” said Claire Kendall, lead member and AAC founder. “And (AAC) started as a way to bring my two loves together.”
Kendall mentioned that many artists are already interested in and creating environmental art, so AAC provided these artists with a place to belong and promote their art for a cause.
On Oct. 19th, AAC held the Common Ground: Environmental Arts Festival at The Lyric, where a diverse group of artists — poets, dancers, musicians, jewelers, filmmakers, printmakers and others — gathered to display their environmentally focused art.
The event lasted from about 4-8 p.m. It included an art market with jewelry and art for sale, free poetry writings and booths on wildlife sustainability.
Common Ground included a sensory-friendly hour from 4-5 p.m. for those who need a calmer, quieter and more accessible environment. Parts of this hour featured soft, live music playing in the background, interactive art where attendees could paint on brown paper and rocks and an overall relaxed market that allowed attendees to go at their own pace and get to know the artists they might be buying from.
One of the vendors at the art market, Natalie Cronin, is a printmaking student at CSU pursuing their BFA in fine arts. Cronin had a stand showcasing and selling their linocuts in intaglio.
“A lot of my art revolves around nature, so I thought this was a perfect opportunity,” Cronin said.
The mission of the event, according to the AAC website, was to bring their vision to life by hosting versatile artists who focus on themes such as conservation, climate change, resilience and environmental justice.
The combination of art and environmental issues and causes is more important than most people might realize. Environmental problems can feel very abstract on the surface, but art has the ability to turn complex ideas into something people can relate to.
Art is often created to evoke emotion, and when people experience guilt, sadness, anger or even hope through art, it can motivate them to address the issues at hand. A large number of people will not or cannot sit down and read a scientific paper, but everybody can experience art.
Madison Hard, a dance student at CSU who performed at Common Ground, spoke about how their dance was created in admiration for the current climate and its relevance to the world. The dance performed was also included in CSU Dance’s spring performance.
Alpine Arts Collective, according to Kendall, is on a mission to include a much broader range of artists, as they are currently very dance-heavy.
The next big project coming up for AAC will focus on “educating people about wildfires and the different facets of them,” Kendall said.
Common Ground brought together different communities within Fort Collins. The event being free to the public encouraged even more people to show up and possibly get involved.
This event brought people together in a shared, outdoor space on a beautiful fall day. Members of different communities sat side by side, with the same big, beautiful sun shining down on and warming their skin. Common Ground helped turn awareness into community action, giving the opportunity for environmental conversations to start.
Reach Riley Paling at entertainment@collegian.com or on social media @rileypaling.
