Artist Talk: Alan Sonfist

In partnership with Small School, an art-based, alternative education platform featuring prominent national and international visiting artists, we invite you to join us at the Chapel for a series of stimulating and thought-provoking conversations on public art and the environment at Dix Park.

Featured Artist: Alan Sonfist

Talk Title: The Art of Ecological Engagement

In a 1969 lecture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, Sonfist spoke the following statement:

“Public monuments traditionally have celebrated events in human history—acts of heroism important to the human community. Increasingly, as we come to understand our dependence on nature, the concept of community expands to include non-human elements. Civic monuments, then, should honor and celebrate the life and acts of the total community, the human ecosystem, including natural phenomena. Especially within the city, public monuments should recapture and revitalize the history of the natural environment at that location. As in war monuments, that record of life and death of soldiers, the life and death of natural phenomena such as rivers, springs, and natural outcroppings needs to be remembered.”

In this talk, Sonfist shares selected projects and stories from his 6+ decades of work advocating for the natural environment as an artist, and his thoughts on his (and our) environmental artwork ahead.

Artist Bio:

In the extraordinary range of his work, Alan Sonfist recreates the inventiveness and intricacy of his subject, the natural world itself. Beginning as a teenager in the 1960s, Sonfist has explored issues of ecological deterioration, preservation, and what would later be understood as "climate change" through projects that draw on the materials and methods of the naturalist, historian, and urban planner. An increasing rejection of commercialization and growing ecological awareness in the early 1960s provide the historical context for many of the themes in Sonfist's work and connect him to artistic movements such as Conceptual Art, Land or Environmental art, and site-specific works. But Sonfist's distinctive interest in urban ecosystems - a result of his upbringing in New York City's South Bronx - is one of the features that distinguishes him from other artists who use natural elements and processes as their artistic medium. Rather than excluding human history from his pieces, Sonfist is deeply attentive to the many specific histories of a given site, often juxtaposing them to powerful effect.

Image: Art Work by Alan Sonfist

While free to attend, space is limited. Registration is required.

This program is free to the public thanks to Dix Park Conservancy donors.

Via Western Boulevard: Enter at Hunt Drive or S. Boylan Avenue

Via Lake Wheeler Road: Enter at Umstead Drive

Follow Signs towards The Chapel

Parking is located in the lots next to and in front of the Chapel.

Contact Dix Park Staff at 919-996-3255 or [email protected]

Dix Park continues to strive to be accessible and welcoming for visitors, including those with disabilities. Currently, portions of Dix Park, including some areas where programs and events occur, have uneven surfaces and are not fully accessible. Accessibility is a primary focus for early park improvements and all future planning and development.

Parking: ADA parking spaces for the Chapel are to the left and out front of the building. ADA parking spaces are available in all lots.

Chapel Entrance: Ramp and ADA push button activated door is located to the left of the front of the building.

Restrooms: Indoor accessible restrooms are available in the Chapel.

Programs and events: Raleigh Parks Inclusion Services works with community members to support participation. To request a program modification based on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), please complete and submit the Accommodation Request Form or contact Inclusion Services staff at 919-996-2147 or [email protected].

City of Raleigh - Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department

Release, Covenant Not To Sue, and Indemnity Agreement

I understand that participating in Dix Park Programs and Events (hereinafter “Program”) involves risk of injury. These risks include, but are not limited to, inclement weather, accidents while traveling, equipment problems or failures, contacts with and actions of other participants, spectators, or volunteers, slips/trips/falls, and musculoskeletal injuries, among others. I choose for myself, for my child, or for another participant who I am enrolling, to participate in the Program despite these and other risks.

By registering for this Program, I acknowledge all risks of injury, illness, and death, and property damage, and affirm that I have assumed all responsibility of injury, illness, death, and property damage relating in any way to the Program. I also agree for myself and for any child or other participant who I am registering herein to follow all rules and procedures that may apply to the Program and to follow the reasonable instructions of City employees and other supervisors of the Program. In return for the opportunity to participate in this Program, I agree for myself and for the child or other participant I am registering, and for our heirs, assigns, executors, and administrators to release, waive, and discharge any legal rights that any one of us may have to seek payment or relief of any kind from the City of Raleigh, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, and the State of North Carolina, their employees or their agents for injury, illness, or death relating in any way to this Program.

If I am registering a minor for the Program, I agree that I am a parent, legal guardian, or am otherwise responsible for the minor whose application I am submitting and that I release, waive, and discharge any legal rights on behalf of that minor. If I am registering an adult, I agree that I am authorized to do so and do hereby release, waive, and discharge any legal rights on behalf of that adult participant. I, along with any participant I register herein, also agree not to sue the City of Raleigh, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, or the State of North Carolina, their employees, or their agents and agree to indemnify the same for any and all claims, damages, losses or expenses, including but not limited to medical expenses and attorney’s fees, if a suit is filed concerning an injury (to person or property), illness, or death to me or to any participant I am enrolling that relates to, or results from, participation in the Program.

I have read this waiver thoroughly and understand that by registering for this program I am waiving legal rights.

Pictures or video may be taken of participants at this Program for use in Dix Park publicity. By registering for the Program, I hereby grant the City of Raleigh, Dix Park Conservancy, and program partners permission to use my likeness in a photograph, video, or other digital media (“photo”) in any and all of their publications, including web-based publications and digital platforms, without payment or other consideration. I hereby irrevocably authorize the City of Raleigh, the Dix Park Conservancy, and program partners to edit, alter, copy, exhibit, publish, or distribute these photos for any lawful purpose.

I have read this release thoroughly and understand that by registering for this program I am waiving legal rights. If I am registering a minor for the Program, I agree that I am a parent, legal guardian, or am otherwise responsible for the minor whose application I am submitting and that I affirm consent on behalf of that minor.

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