Bridging Stream and City

Inspiring Natural Wonder through Art and Technology

Photo of Samantha Brooks and Emma Wilson looking at painted community artwork at the Blacksburg Farmers Market. Photo courtesy of Matt Gentry.

The Underwater Wonders: of Toms Creek. An Immersive Art Experience. Free and Open to All. Explore the Underwater Wonders of Toms Creek in this community created immersive art exhibition highlighting Toms Creek, a local waterbody that flows into the New River and home to the Bluehead Chub (Nocomis leptocephalus), the rock-moving minnow taking center stage in this installation. Created in collaboration with Perspective Gallery, the Virginia Tech Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, and through a SEAD Grant from the Virginia Tech Institute of Creativity and Technology (ICAT), the two year project involved the community art-making of hundreds of painted fish, theatre workshops, and educational programs using the nexus between science, art, and technology to encourage personal attachment to local watersheds and ultimately a community connected to the natural beauty around them. March 14 - May 10, 2023 Opening Reception: Reception Friday March 17, 5 - 7 p.m. Gallery Hours: Mon/6-9 p.m., Tues-Sat/12- 9 p.m., Sun/1 - 5 p.m. 2nd Floor Squires Student Center - campuslife.vt.edu/perspectivegallery.

With the first half of our awarded ICAT funds, we successfully carried out multiple events that are fulfilling and exceeding the three main projects we initially proposed– an art exhibition/social practice art project, a bluehead chub nest-building game, and a devised ecotheatre workshop. We orchestrated several events, involving both the art exhibition and the nest-building game. Additionally, we organized a devised theatre experience, raising awareness of the Mountain Valley Pipeline and its impact on aquatic and human communities.

Bridging Stream and City

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