The Athenaeum Invitational |Athenaeum | NVFAA

Focus on Climate Change and Sustainability

September 23 — October 31

Online and in the gallery

Double-click each image to get a bigger view of the art as well as the full artist statement.

Meet the Artists, Saturday, October 23, 1 - 3pm

The gallery is open Thursday through Sunday, from noon to 4pm.

The Athenaeum Gallery invited DC, Virginia, and Maryland artists to explore concepts related to climate change. We were looking for a wide variety of topics and perspectives, but all work accepted into the exhibition will have a common leitmotif: optimism for improving our footprint on the planet. Works that inspire rather than threaten, celebrate rather than scare, and explore new materials and techniques that help present a positive message about climate change and productive ways we can meet the associated challenges.

Artists were encouraged to consider the theme broadly and creatively. Some of the works accepted into the show might:

Reflect today’s opportunities to have a beneficial impact on the future.
Inspire, motivate, or educate people to take action in response to climate change.
Comment on the fragility or our world.
Feature sustainable or repurposed materials, methods, or practices.
Identify threats and propose solutions.
Explore the philosophical, cultural, and ecological implications of our impact on the environment.

$3,750 will be given in prizes, through four awards: Best in Show, Honorable Mention, Art Optimism, and Popular Choice.

Viewer's Choice Award

Vote for your Favorite!

Please let us know which piece best reflects ART OPTIMISM …..or just pick your favorite! The winning piece will be eligible for our Viewer's Choice award and a $500 prize.

VOTE HERE!

Sally Kauffman

Rebirth 2021
Oil on canvas
46" x 46"
$4,000.00
2021

Dead birds, or in this case, extinct birds, can symbolize new beginnings. I found myself watching birds from my balcony in locked down Rome in 2020, in particular the Monk Parakeets. The birds delighted me with their ambitious behaviors. Other pandemic pastimes included strolling along the Tiber in the evening to observe the murmurations of the starlings and exploring the Baroque churches with their magnificent frescoed ceilings. These lovely visions are evident in Rebirth, my portrayal of the extinct Carolina Parakeet, the only parrot species native to Northern America.

Carolyn Marshall Wright

And How Does It Taste?
Acrylic and seaweed on cradled board
16" x 12"
$450.00
2021

When considering global warming, the notion of “cow-burps” may elicit more of a chuckle than angst; still, they are a problem since cows emit methane, a substance that traps 30 times more heat than carbon dioxide. An unlikely hero has emerged to assist in the dilemma of agriculture-based methane production: seaweed! Recent studies by the University of California, Davis, have proven that when seaweed is added to cows’ diets, their methane output decreases by up to 82%. To showcase this exciting discovery, I have collaged dried seaweed (which I sealed and cut into shapes) into my painting. The cows in my piece have varied reactions to this new fodder: two are tentatively tasting the new treat, a third enthusiastically chomps away, already doing its part to fight climate change.