THE CROW'S NEST
A CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ART INCUBATOR
Art credit: Rosemary Feit Covey, 2022
MISSION
The Crow's Nest is an art incubator that provides work space, social space, and exhibition space for anyone seeking to address the twin challenges of climate change and environmental justice through artistic expression and cultural production, especially radical and public art.
At the Crow's Nest, we are building a diverse community where those who care about our shared future can connect, exchange ideas, experiment, collaborate, and inspire one another. We aspire to become Baltimore's hub where climate and environmental justice meets pathbreaking art.
in BmoreArt magazine
The Crow's Nest Lands on Mulberry Street
in BmoreArt magazine
Bridging Divides to Grow Resilience: Interview
in ecoartspace
in Voyage Baltimore
NEST IN THE MEDIA
WHAT'S ON AT THE NEST
Meet the Artist: Illustrator and Environmental Activist Eddie Ahn
NOVEMBER 12, 2024 @ 7PM
Eddie Ahn has been an environmental justice attorney and nonprofit worker for fifteen years. While working as the executive director of Brightline Defense, a San Francisco–based environmental justice nonprofit, he was inducted into the State of California’s Clean Energy Hall of Fame for his work in equity and clean energy. In addition to his nonprofit work, he has served as president of the San Francisco Commission on the Environment as well as a commissioner on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Bay Conservation and Development Commission. He is a self-taught artist who has been recognized as a Cartoonist-in-Residence by the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa. Eddie will speak about his new graphic memoir ADVOCATE: A Graphic Memoir of Family, Community, and the Fight for Environmental Justice.
PAST SHOWS / EVENTS
The Ecology of Freedom: Visual Activism Exhibit
OCTOBER 12 - NOVEMBER 3, 2024
Opens Saturday, October 12, 1 - 5 PM
Reception Sunday, October 13, 2 - 4 PM
In collaboration with ecoartspace, the Crow's Nest is proud to announce an ecological broadside (poster) exhibit and campaign. From over 200 submissions we received from 80 artists in response to our call, we selected twenty-four visually captivating images. The original posters will be on display at the Crow's Nest gallery in downtown Baltimore along with printed broadsides to take with you for free. Downloads for self-printing are freely available here. Also read the Jurors' Statement and the Artists' Statements.
Themes of the broadsides:
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Equitable access to clean air and water
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Protection of undisturbed soils and
regeneration of soils
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Protection of communities against
extreme heat and flooding
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Plastics Recycling/Reuse
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Rights of Nature
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Indigenous Knowledge
Artists selected:
Mark Armbruster, Lynn Benson, Christina Bertea, Mazerick Betko, Pamela Casper, Nicole Dextras, Environmental Performance Agency (EPA), Holly Fay, Carol Flueckiger, Helen Glazer, Lawrence Gipe, Karen Hackenberg, Katie Kehoe, Deborah Kennedy, Pierre Leichner, Taina Litwak, Minal Mistry, Constance Old, Hugh Pocock, Jill Price, Jatun Risba, Jann Rosen-Queralt, Ruth Wallen, and Bart Woodstrup
Mark Armbruster
Pamela Casper
Karen Hackenberg
Lawrence Gipe
Inaugural Exhibit on Climate Change
SEPTEMBER 7 - 22, 2024
Climate change is a vast, challenging thing to come to terms with. Philosopher Timothy Morton has called climate change a "hyperobject"-- something that we can't truly apprehend because it is massively distributed in time and space relative to humans. It's hard for us to get a phenomenon of such scale into our heads. In addition, climate change evokes all kinds of challenging emotions -- fear, anxiety, sadness, rage, and a desire for action. Yet, to confront the crisis, we must come to terms with it, however partially or imperfectly.
This exhibit presents the work of ten artists who help us grasp different aspects of the hyperobject. These diverse works explore three dimensions of climate change. Some help us glimpse the vast, human systems that are feeding the climate crisis and that need to stop or radically change. Others focus on Nature's resilience and awesome adaptability, but show that our future cannot be delinked from the rest of nature. The final group of works help us process our feelings about the climate emergency -- how rage can turn to activism and action; how powerlessness can turn into despair or denial, if we let it; and how gratitude and joy for what we still have can keep us going.
Artists exhibiting:
THE INCUBATOR
What does the Crow's Nest offer?
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7-8 private work (non-residential) studios available for rent, ranging from 100 to 850 square feet; some can be combined or subdivided
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Flexible leases
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Gallery space for exhibits and events
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24-7 secure building access
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Newly renovated space, including new LED lighting in all studios and new cooling and heating systems
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Wi-fi throughout
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Industrial sinks and bathrooms on every floor
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Shared kitchenette
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Top-floor lounge to meet, relax, and talk
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Easy access by car, bus, light rail, metro, and bicycle
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Street parking; monthly parking available from two nearby, independently-managed lots
Committed to sustainability
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All-electric building (no fossil fuels)
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Heat pumps provide all heating and cooling
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Energy-efficient LED lighting throughout
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Recycled furniture whenever possible
How do leases work?
We welcome artists with a specific project in mind who need a place to execute it, as well as those still crafting a vision and looking to explore, experiment, or collaborate. Leases can be up to 18 months long, with the possibility of renewal after that. Length of leases is flexible and can be adapted to the background, needs, and project objectives of the artist. We have worked hard to keep rents as low as possible.
Who should apply?
We are looking for artists with diverse backgrounds, life experiences, and artistic media who are committed to pushing boundaries and challenging the status quo in the areas of climate action and environmental justice. The incubator is open to everyone, including writers, muralists, animators, illustrators, architects, photographers, painters, composers, and video game designers. The only constraint is what the building and the studio space can physically accommodate.