Happy Earth Month!  It has been our pleasure to host MC Evans as our Environment Art Intern this past school year. While it is bittersweet that her time with us is coming to an end, we are forever grateful to the contributions she has made to SFI. Enjoy reading about her journey as our guest blogger!

In Community,

Jennifer Bauer-Lyons, Executive Director

AN INTERN’S JOURNEY:
MC Evans, Environmental Intern

I have been studying communication and sustainability at Georgia Tech for three years. Here’s what I’ve learned: 

• Unless it directly affects them, people usually don’t care to take care of the world

• Art is universally appreciated, especially if viewers are given context

• The importance of community can’t be overstated enough. Public spaces, public art, public events — anything that involves the community improves the community.

One of my favorite classes at Tech has been Urban & Regional Planning. I read Death and Life of Great American Cities and discovered great cities are cultivated in the public spaces. Sidewalks are for happenstance meetups, green spaces can be used for just about anything, and mixed use buildings are quintessential to a thriving neighborhood. One thing underscores each of these elements: the presence of community. Public art can be a catalyst for this cultivation of closeness both physically and culturally through gallery spaces and museums as well as a shared story represented in art.

Our goal at the South Fulton Institute is to be a catalyst for that community enhancement and environmental consciousness. My job, as the environmental intern, has been to unearth artists who promote environmentalism through their work, whether it’s by using sustainable materials or by communicating a message through art regarding the environment.

As Earth Day is quickly approaching (wasn’t it just Groundhog Day??), I want to share one of my favorite public art installations in Atlanta that reflects our focus on community building and environmentalism. The King Memorial MARTA station has seen some beautification in the recent past with the installation of  a ‘Reflection Tunnel’ under the tracks on Grant Street. The artists reused road reflectors to create vibrant designs on the walls of the tunnels, providing a more enjoyable experience when passing through. Every year, I run the Hot Chocolate 15k and I love getting to this point. I’m not sure why except that it’s fun to look at and different from any of the other scenery along the route. I think that’s the best thing about public art: it isn’t necessarily marketed or put on display for a certain audience, it’s just there to be casually enjoyed by passers-by. The Reflection Tunnel also showcases residents' stories, so if you scan QR codes placed on the walls of the tunnel, they’ll link you to interviews done with people of the neighborhood. The installation is still expanding in this way because the space allows for hundreds of scannable codes.

My time at SFI has been invaluable in learning about community interaction. I’ve researched loads of public art (and found the names to these installations I see daily — remember the giant car that looked like it was dripping fabric on 10th and Peachtree? It’s called Autoeater) and realized the impact it can have on a neighborhood, from raising awareness to being a conversation starter. I think art is the key to getting people to care about our planet and I hope you all find some time to celebrate our earth and the art in it this month.

All the best,
MC Evans, Environmental Intern