Collected Item: “UCSC Arts & Ecology Festival”
Institutional or organizational affiliation (optional)
UCSC Art Department, OpenLab
Make your contributions anonymous?
No — I am happy for my name to appear with this item
Title of the item
Event
Description — please describe the item in detail, including its content, context, and significance.
The Arts & Ecology Festival unfolds across the Digital Arts Research Center (DARC) and surrounding outdoor spaces with a full day of exhibitions, screenings, talks, performances, and participatory workshops. Throughout the building, installations and artworks will activate shared spaces and corridors with projects that engage climate, ecology, and collective futures.
In the Black Box, a series of talks and panel discussions brings together artists, researchers, and community members for short, focused conversations on environmental justice, creative practice, and climate action.
The Light Lab hosts continuous film screenings every day during Earth Week (April 20-25), featuring looping short works during the day and an evening program that moves through themes of land, water, body, and resistance.
Outside, the courtyard and surrounding areas offer tabling and community engagement, connecting visitors with campus groups, artists, and local initiatives.
A range of hands-on workshops and participatory activities invite visitors to learn, make, and share knowledge throughout the day. This is an open, roaming festival; visitors are encouraged to move between spaces, gather, and engage at their own pace.
In the Black Box, a series of talks and panel discussions brings together artists, researchers, and community members for short, focused conversations on environmental justice, creative practice, and climate action.
The Light Lab hosts continuous film screenings every day during Earth Week (April 20-25), featuring looping short works during the day and an evening program that moves through themes of land, water, body, and resistance.
Outside, the courtyard and surrounding areas offer tabling and community engagement, connecting visitors with campus groups, artists, and local initiatives.
A range of hands-on workshops and participatory activities invite visitors to learn, make, and share knowledge throughout the day. This is an open, roaming festival; visitors are encouraged to move between spaces, gather, and engage at their own pace.
Creator(s) — artist, filmmaker, researcher, organization, or collective.
Art Professor Jennifer Parker
Date of creation or completion (e.g. 2023, 2023-06, or 2023-06-15)
Earth Week, April 2026
Item Type / Class
Community Initiative
Language
English (en)
Any additional collaborators or partner organizations (optional)
UC CAAN Team
Where was this work created or presented? (e.g. Oakland, CA; Bolinas Lagoon; Salinas River watershed)
Santa Cruz, CA
Is there a website(s) or URL(s) associated with this item? (optional) — enter one per line. E.g. project website, streaming link, publication DOI, or institutional repository
https://sites.google.com/ucsc.edu/arts-and-ecology-festival-2026/arts-ecology-festival?authuser=0
Optional caption describing the submitted still image(s) — e.g. scene, timestamp, or production context. For multiple stills, separate captions with a semicolon
This is a photo taken outside the Digital Arts Research Center during the festival. Someone is holding up the Arts & Ecology Festival postcard that has details about the festival dates and location. There is a hole in the middle of the card that reference the earth on the Whole Earth Catalog from 1970. Through the hole you can see tables in a row under black sun shades with people gathering and sharing ideas and information. Each table represents a different project or collective sharing work with the people who came to the festival.
What words can be used to describe the Climate Themes of your submission?
Climate Justice
What words can be used to describe the Ecological Domain / Habitat Themes of your submission? (e.g. Plains, Coral Reef, Desert Dunes, Coastal Beach, etc.)
Public Gathering and community engagement with artists, scientists, students, and scholars.
What methodologies / practices were used in your submission? (e.g. AI-Assisted Practice, Data Visualization, Oral History, Sculpture, etc.)
performance, film, workshops, talks
What is the geographic scope of your submission?
Local (neighborhood or community)
What is the audience and engagement type for your submission? (e.g. Classroom and Formal Education, Direct Action and Protest, Publication and Print, etc.)
Campus community with the general public
What institution or community is your submission affiliated with?
UC Santa Cruz
What are the themes and concepts of your submission? (e.g. Healing and Restoration, Youth and Futurity, Care and Reciprocity)
Earth Day Event, Art & Ecology
Add 3–8 tags — use for species names, local place names, project titles, or community language not covered above. Separate with commas. (e.g. Bolinas Lagoon, Macrocystis Pyrifera, Fog season
college campus
What is the rights status of your submission?
Open License (Creative Commons)
If Creative Commons, which license?
CC0 (Public Domain Dedication)
Please select the Access Level for this submission
I am happy for this item to be made publicly visible
Did AI tools play a meaningful role in creating this work? (optional — your answer will not be published without your consent)
[private]