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A new exhibit exploring the space where art and the natural world meet is on view at the CU听Art Museum. The exhibit,听Documenting Change: Our Climate (Past, Present, Future), showcases 70 artworks from 31 artists.听

Open until July 20, the exhibit features diverse materials and spans the historical to the present. Objects range from Renaissance botanical publications, Romantic-era landscape painting, late 19th and early 20th century scientific photographs of glaciers, and contemporary visualizations of complex datasets. Artworks are composed from silver, soot, wood, wool, ink and pixels.

Documenting Change: Our Climate, the Rockies, was the first in this series of exhibits and programs scheduled in 2018鈥�19. This exhibit opened last summer and presents the historical scope of documentary strategies shared by artists and scientists in their studies of climate. In addition to works from the CU Art Museum鈥檚 collection, the exhibit features documentary photographs from the archives of the National Snow and Ice Data Center听and contemporary artworks with a focus on the Rocky Mountains.

The exhibits and programming are funded, in part, by CU Boulder鈥檚 Grand Challenge: Our Space. Our Future.; NEST (Nature, Environment, Science & Technology Studio for the Arts); and the Center for Western Civilization, Thought & Policy.听

Attracting student interest

Undergraduate students Dante Dupont and Valerie Foley have been developing activities for students at the museum since the fall semester.听Dupont is studying anthropology, with minors in business and Technology, Arts & Media; and Foley is a senior in environmental studies with a minor in atmospheric sciences.

鈥淒ante brings an art background, and Valerie brings her passion and knowledge in environmental studies,鈥� said Traci McDonald, visitor experience liaison at the CU Art Museum. 鈥淗er perspective compliments the arts side and has influenced the development of exciting and innovative programming that will help us connect more students with the听Documenting Change听别虫丑颈产颈迟颈辞苍.鈥�

Last summer, Foley began looking for a job for the academic year, and a listing from the CU Art Museum caught her eye. The art museum was preparing for the听Documenting Change听exhibit that opened in February and needed outreach assistance to听create听student programs for the fall and spring semesters.听

Foley worried she wouldn鈥檛 be considered for the paid position since she wasn鈥檛 an arts major, but her background in STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and math) brought her science perspective to the position.听

鈥淗aving an education in environmental studies gave me background into the material that was being prepared for the exhibit,鈥� she said. 鈥淭raci told us about the exhibition and gave us the reins to figure out how to get students involved and engaged in the material.鈥�

Considering the many opportunities on campus vying for students鈥� time and attention, Foley and Dupont developed activities they thought would pique students鈥� interest.听

It鈥檚 been a learning experience for them as they planned events and worked out logistics. An excursion to Chautauqua Park for a fall colors photography activity meant also coordinating enough transportation to get everyone there. An event held at Williams Village Residence Halls was inadvertently scheduled during Sorority Rush Week, which meant Dupont and Foley had a hard time connecting with freshmen who were busy with sorority recruitment activities.听

鈥淚鈥檝e learned how difficult it can be to get students involved in activities because they have so many options on campus,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檝e realized there are a lot of different audiences to reach on campus and that students want high-quality programs.鈥�

To increase outreach this semester, they鈥檙e partnering with other groups on campus, including the Colorado Ocean Coalition (COC) and Students Alliance for Landscape Architecture.

The hands-on programs Foley and Dupont have organized for the spring semester run the gamut from making sun catchers, to drawing botanical pictures, to using pastels and charcoal to make art inspired by landscapes featured in the听Documenting Change听exhibit. For a complete list of talks and activities, go to听CU Art Museum programs.

鈥淲e came up with weekend activities and First Thursday events that connect students with the themes and messages we鈥檙e trying to convey, which will then connect them with the bigger messages in the听Documenting Change听exhibit,鈥� she said.

Foley plans to earn a graduate degree in atmospheric sciences or geography, and she鈥檚 begun applying for summer internships.听

鈥淒eveloping student activities at the museum this year has expanded my interest from just being in STEM to having more of an interest in the humanities and in policy,鈥� Foley said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been fun to create art programs that draw on my background, like thinking of sustainable ways to make quality art programs.鈥�

Gathering diverse perspectives

Maya Livio is a PhD candidate in an interdisciplinary program in the College of Media, Communication and Information. Her interest in how technology, science and culture are shaping each other was her entry point into the art museum.听

Livio organized the symposium that was held during the opening of the听Documenting Change: Our Climate (Past, Present, Future)听exhibit. She designed the symposium as a way to bring together people from across campus who have concerns about the environment and to explore whether their individual approaches to the topic intersect.

Faculty, graduate students and alumni who spoke at the symposium shared their research on understanding complex environmental problems. Perspectives presented ran the gamut from environmental scientists, filmmakers, dancers and communications scholars.

鈥淔or me, the symposium was about getting people to talk about those challenges head-on and seeing them from different perspectives, where they overlap and where the points of resistance are,鈥� Livio said. 鈥淭he nitty gritty practicality of doing interdisciplinary work is incredibly challenging because we鈥檙e all speaking different languages and referencing different literature, artworks and research methods. It鈥檚 thinking about how scholars, scientists and artists all look at and document the environment鈥澨�