The arts are everywhere at this year’s Nobel Conference September 24-25, “Climate Changed: Facing Our Future.” From dances performed on a melting ice platform to a concert combining music and poetry, attendees can experience different artistic responses to the conference theme. Several events will be livestreamed as noted.
Here’s your guide to arts events at the Nobel Conference:
TUESDAY
To Weep, to Fall, and to Fade (part one)
8:30 a.m., Outside between Lund Center and C. Charles Jackson Campus Center
In a dance exploring the creation of glaciers, choreographer Michele Rusinko uses the slow, controlled motion typical of a Japanese form of dance theatre called “Butoh.” Performed by Anna Buskala ’20, Kathryn Hicks ’21, Amanda Hoffman ’22, Amber Lange ’20, and Marissa Williamson ’20, this site-specific dance takes place on a platform made of nine blocks of ice. The dance will last around 50 minutes with the intention of the audience coming and going throughout.
The Gustavus Wind Orchestra performs at the Nobel Conference.
Musical Preludes
Lund Center Arena (livestream)
9:15 a.m. – Gustavus Wind Orchestra
12:35 p.m.– Gustavus Wind Symphony
Appreciation by Katie Pearl and Homo Sapiens by Chantal Bilodeau,
performed throughout the day at various locations
Directed by Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance Henry MacCarthy, these two plays are from “Climate Change Theatre Action,” a worldwide series of readings and performances of short climate change plays presented in 2017. Gustavus Theatre Alumni Chase Adelsman ’17, and Thomas Buan ’16 will perform these pieces.
Each piece will be performed at various times during breaks in the conference. Be on the lookout during lunch, while in line, or during other breaks in the conference.
Burned
11:30 a.m., Outside of the Folke Bernadotte Library (north side)
Student choreographer Kathryn Hicks ’21 explores the devastating fires occurring around the globe as a result of the climate crisis in her dance, Burned, performed by PhePhe Quevi ’20. The dance will also feature text performed by Sandesh Sukhram ’21 and Ja’de Lin Till ’21. This site-specific piece will take place outside in the trees on the north side of the library.
Experience a Glacier Melting, Nobel Conference Learning Lab
11:30 a.m., Lund Forum
During lunch breaks, experience the immersive exhibit created by art faculty member Betsy Byers and Emily Dzieweczynski ’19 about the Rhone Glacier in Switzerland and the hydrological system at Volcán Cayambe in Ecuador. Using virtual reality and sensory stimuli such as felt, lights, heat lamps, dirt, and water, viewers will experience the effects of receding glaciers.
Climate Change Workshop: Using Artistic Techniques to Engage with Climate Change Data
3:30 p.m., Beck Hall Room 113
Join facilitator Bailey Hilgren ’17, graduate student in musicology and environmental studies, in a climate change workshop on the intersection of the arts and climate change. In this workshop, participants will explore ways to combine communication methods traditionally used separately in the arts and science through the use of data sonification, visualization, and storytelling techniques. Participants will also have the opportunity to create their own data-driven artistic works about climate change.
When Science Ends, We Begin
5 p.m., Beck Atrium
Student choreographer Marissa Williamson ’20 highlights the varied and contradictory viewpoints in the climate change discussion with this dance. Featuring Amanda Hoffman ’22, Kelly Montgomery ’21, Hannah Saunders ’22, Megan Setterlund ’21, Megan Witte ’20, and Kristen Ziegler ’21, this piece is performed to a compilation of audio excerpts by scientists, activists, and politicians.
Arthur Rothstein (1915-1985), Dust Storm, Cimarron County, Oklahoma, 1936, gelatin silver print, 8 3/4 x 12 3/4 inches, Shogren-Meyer Collection.
Hillstrom Museum of Art
Reception from 6–8 p.m.
The Hillstrom Museum of Art will be open extended hours with a reception from 6-8 p.m. The current exhibit, Industry, Work, Society, and Travails in the Depression Era: American Paintings and Photographs from the Shogren-Meyer Collection, focuses on the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. Tying into the conference theme of “Climate Changed,” this exhibit points to parallels of economic issues and challenging environmental circumstances during the 1930s and today.
More information about this exhibit can be found here.
Artist CV Peterson ’10 with one of the pieces from “Mykitas Epoch – Fungal Expansion Within the Plastisphere”.
Schaefer Art Gallery Reception and Gallery Talk
Reception from 5-7 p.m.
Gallery Talk with Artist CV Peterson ’10 at 6 p.m.
Artist CV Peterson ’10 will give a gallery talk on their exhibit Mykitas Epoch – Fungal Expansion within the Plastisphere. The exhibit focuses on an imagined future where the only thing humanity has left behind is plastic. In this world, fungi have taken over, interacting with and consuming the plastic. The various pieces explore the intersection of fungi and plastic.
More information about this exhibit is available here.
Music and Poetry: Recitations and Meditations on the Earth
8 p.m., Björling Recital Hall (livestream)
Featuring both music and poetry, this event explores climate change through creative expression. Poets and musicians from the Gustavus community will recite and perform their own works, creating a conversation to reflect on the varied responses to climate change. This event is open to the public without charge; no ticket required. The performance will be livestreamed.
WEDNESDAY
To Weep, to Fall, and to Fade (part two)
8:50 a.m., Outside between Lund Center and C. Charles Jackson Campus Center
A follow-up to the performance Tuesday morning, this piece takes a further look at the themes explored previously. Choreographed jointly by performers Anna Buskala ’20, Amanda Hoffman ’22, and Amber Lange ’20, the dance will take place on the partially melted ice platform of the earlier dance.
The Gustavus Jazz Ensemble performs the prelude at the Nobel Conference.
Musical Prelude (Livestream)
9:10 a.m. – Gustavus Symphony Orchestra
1:10 p.m. Gustavus Jazz Ensemble
A Glacier’s Lament
12 p.m., Outside between Lund Center and C. Charles Jackson Campus Center
The final dance of this year’s conference, A Glacier’s Lament, mourns the loss of the glaciers. Choreographed by Marissa Williamson ’20, this lament takes place on the remains of the ice platform. This piece will be performed by Anna Buskala ’20, Kathryn Hicks ’21, Amanda Hoffman ’22, and Amber Lange ’20.
Experience a Glacier Melting, Nobel Conference Learning Lab (Repeat)
12 p.m., Lund Forum
During lunch breaks, experience the immersive exhibit created by art faculty member Betsy Byers and Emily Dzieweczynski ’19 about the Rhone Glacier in Switzerland and the hydrological system at Volcán Cayambe in Ecuador. Using virtual reality and sensory stimuli such as felt, lights, heat lamps, dirt, and water, viewers will experience the effects of receding glaciers.