The Social Ecology Studio is an experimental arts research lab housed within the School of Art, dedicated to advancing sustainability and resilience through the arts. Capitalizing on art’s ability to interest, inform and activate its audience, the studio is piloting methodologies to engage and connect community members and policy makers with issues entrenched in social ecology. Serving as a resource hub for artists, the studio’s mission is to initiate and facilitate collaborative projects with scientific and social researchers across campus. Its aim is to develop and research methods for the arts to impact and enhance the local ecosystem, and to connect with and enrich the community.

Studio Director: Michael Marshall

Opportunities

Composite image of the Chemours Mine in Southeast Georgia. Photographs by Professor MIchael Marshall.

Composite image of the Chemours Mine in Southeast Georgia. Photographs by Professor Michael Marshall.

 

Art in the Field

Embark on a unique artistic adventure with our 5-day Art in the Field excursion to the Lower Coastal Plains of southeast Georgia, sponsored by the Social Ecology Studio and generously supported by a Chemours Vibrant Communities Grant. This immersive experience offers you the chance to create artwork directly in the field while engaging with the rich history, culture, and ecology of this fascinating region—all at no cost to you.

With transportation, lodging, meals, and tours included, you’ll explore Southeast Georgia’s landscapes and communities through two trip options: September 24-29, 2024, and/or March 3-8, 2025 (spring break).

Each excursion offers a series of unforgettable experiences: kayak down the Oconee and Altamaha Rivers and imagine their impact on Georgia’s history and environment; visit the Chemours Mine to learn about the extraction of minerals vital to our daily lives and the importance of conservation; take a boat tour through the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, home to North America’s largest intact blackwater swamp, where you'll learn about its incredible biodiversity; and visit Sapelo Sea Farm, the oldest clam farm in Georgia. The trip also includes a special presentation from renowned coastal naturalist Stacia Hendrix and a two-night stay at the UGA Marine Institute on Sapelo Island, where you’ll delve into the island’s unique cultural and environmental history.

As an ambassador of the UGA School of Art, you’ll be expected to produce new artwork throughout the excursion, maintain a field journal for sketches and notes, and complete at least one finished piece for a special exhibition in April 2025.

Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your creative practice—apply today!

 

Join us at the Information Meeting on August 23 at 11:30 am in School of Art Room N100. The application deadline for the fall trip is August 30, 2024, at 12:00 noon, with notifications of acceptance sent on Tuesday, September 3.

Apply

For any questions, please contact Michael Marshall at mmars@uga.edu

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Studio Research Projects

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The North Oconee River Project

Led by Carla Cao, MA candidate in Music, the North Oconee River Project is a collaboration between music, art, law, ecology and the greater Athens community. Its mission is to recognize legal personhood rights of the North Oconee River, establishing the city’s first-ever Rights of Nature laws. Leveraging the methodology of Creative Placemaking the project is piloting a research model that utilizes the arts to not only foster community engagement but also facilitate the development and transformation of environmental policy.

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Imagination Squared

Led by Christina Foard, MFA candidate in Studio Art, Imagination Squared utilizes a participatory design model to engage communities in conversations about individual and collective notions of resilience. The project explores art’s capacity to engage and extend a conversation across fields and across spectrums of the community through collective co-authorship of an arts installation.

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The Hive

Led by Cristina Echezarreta, MFA candidate in Studio Art, The Hive is a project designed to leverage the power of the arts as a tool to enhance individual and community transformation for offenders housed within the confinements of Georgia’s state prisons. Investigating parallel hierarchies within bee hives and prison systems, the project engages individuals through creative practice, vocational skill building, ecology education, revitalization and empowerment.