Mary Jo Aagerstoun, Ph.D., Lucy Keshavarz, and Jesse Etelson are three artists working in the new and growing field of ECOART. They will be showing the 3 minute trailer/teaser just completed for a longer EcoArt SoFLA film they are currently working to produce. They will each then talk about their own personal experiences in creating EcoArt projects, showing us images of the 11 EcoArt projects in our region completed so far, and some of the EcoArt concepts they would like to inspire other local EcoArtists to become involved in.
Mary Jo Aagerstoun, Ph.D., is an independent art historian based in West Palm Beach and specializing in research on contemporary activist art and cultural production. She is the founder and president of EcoArt South Florida, Inc., known from 2007-2010 as the South Florida Environmental Art Project, Inc. EcoArt South Florida, Inc. is a 501 c 3 non-profit organization that seeks to establish South Florida as a major center for EcoArt, a cultural hybrid that crosses discipline boundaries, wedding art with environmental sciences, community involvement and collaboration. Dr. Aagerstoun received her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland’s Art History and Archaeology Department in May, 2004.
Lucy Keshavarz is a native Floridian who completed her BFA at Florida Atlantic University. Since childhood, she is observant and driven to build things. Her master was and still is nature; she is “humbled by the mystery of its balance and spirit.” Creativity, questioning and the desire to change things for the better have always been strong traits in her personality. Her artistic journey has allowed her to embrace numerous art forms and to work in many facets of arts administration, including working with non-arts entities. Over the last decade, she has transitioned from facilitating public art projects to creating integrated public art herself and getting back into the studio creating works in clay, glass and multi-media. After being introduced to the concept of EcoArt through Dr. Mary Jo Aagerstoun, Lucy felt she had arrived at her artistic home. She has completed two EcoArt projects and is excitedly studying “green” technologies in anticipation of more EcoArt projects to come.
Jesse Etelson is a South Florida native artist and art educator. He is a graduate of the EcoArt South Florida Martin County 2009 Apprenticeship mentored by Betsy Damon, and assistant to pioneering wildlife EcoArtist, Lynne Hull. Since his EcoArt apprenticeship, Jesse has directed several ongoing EcoArt projects in South Florida focusing on wildlife conservation, water quality and community restoration. As a teaching and practicing EcoArtist, he is committed to advancing education by inspiring current and new generations through environmental and social stewardship.
