Art, Ecology and Environmental Restoration

FREEING THE WATERS

Madrona Arts staff and board members chose rivers and watersheds as our primary focus. As oceanographer Sylvia Earle frequently puts it, "No blue, no green." Shortages of clean freshwater are acute crises in far too many parts of our country and the world. We started our Freeing the Waters Program with the Klamath River that flows from near Crater Lake down through national wildlife refuges, high desert, and the coastal redwoods to the mouth of the river at Requa, California. This river is an important one to the Pacific wild salmon and the largest Native Tribes in Oregon and California. The Rogue River has also been listed among the most endangered rivers by the organization American Rivers.

While global warming catches the headlines, it is not separate from water issues. Our ways of doing business are just not working and a new ecology of human lifestyle and livelihood is essential to us and the all other beings on this planet.

Freeing the Klamath River

The Klamath or “swift” River Basin extends over 265 miles in Southern Oregon and Northern California. The river and its tributaries course through one of the most bio-diverse regions in North America. Ecological restoration efforts are centered on four dams that foster growth of toxic blue-green algae and impede salmon and steelhead from reaching spawning grounds. For the First Nations living along the river for over 7000 years, loss of native fisheries beginning early in the 20th century has been disastrous. Restoration of this river is likely to occur in this decade and the next in a unique collaboration of tribes, farmers, ranchers, environmental scientists, and others who care for it. This eco-restoration will be the largest ever undertaken in the United States.

For more information on the latest agreement to restore the watershed including dam removal see Klamath Restoration Website and also Alternet Dan Bacher article and see the Klamath Riverkeeper website. Klamath River dam removal and fisheries restoration will take many years and will require a great deal of cooperation throughout the entire watershed. River renewal is integral to the tribes living on the Klamath. For more detailed information visit The Karuk Tribe, The Yurok Tribe, Hoopa Valley Tribe, and The Klamath Tribes.

Under Madrona Arts sponsorship, a group of artists exhibited their work expressing the Klamath River in a series of visual art shows. The shows were accompanied by original music performance and a screening of Stephen Most's film, River of Renewal in collaboration with Red Earth Descendants Red Earth Descendants. Studio 5 hosted the shows throughout August and September. Some of the most active environmental groups working on Klamath River issues provided information, literature, and ways to actively participate in saving and restoring the Klamath River Basin.

Klamath River Project Gallery

Freeing the Waters of Our Region

The second phase of our Freeing the Waters Program aims to continue to raise awareness on the many diverse dimensions and issues of the the watersheds in our area.

The following projects are currently underway:

1. River Circles Community Fiber Art Project

The River Circles group meets each week with the aim of producing a set of 52 fiber art circles, one for each 5 miles of the Klamath River, to be shown in an exhibit in January 2009 and later in the summer as pieces accrue. River Circles are created from recycled fabrics and gathered natural fibers. Examples and photos from the River Circles group may be viewed here. River Circles. For more information or to be added to the email list for weekly gatherings please contact us.

2. Jefferson Nature Center Collaboration

This project will begin after January 2009 and is led by Susan Cross of the JNC. There are now two on-going projects: art and ecology assistance in lower income schools in the Ashland-Medford area, and a series of art events called Shifting Patterns. Shifting Patterns is a series of four readings/display events featuring interpretation of regional climate change predictions by local artists and writers. The project connects groups doing research on local climate change with a selected group of regional artists/writers. Artists will respond to what they learn from the scientists by creating art/literature pieces. The products will be shared with the public through readings/display events later in the summer. This project is funded by the Oregon Arts Commission through the Arts Builds Community Grants Program. Jefferson Nature Center past arts projects include Nature, Art, and Creating Culture, as well as Marking Our Place. For information see the Jefferson Nature Center.

3. Gathering of Waters Project for Over the River Artists

This exhibt is currently under development. It is connected to the Over the River history project and aims to connect river arts here and around the country. We will post more about this as it progresses. You can see background on this piece as it occurred on the Rio Grande. This project was initiated by Basia Irland in New Mexico. Gathering of Waters Rio Grande Source to Sea.

Please contact for information or to volunteer for our projects: Diana Hartel, 541-552-0703 or if you have an idea for a show, works of art, or a community-based project relevant to the issues of the Klamath River Basin. We are happy to work with you to make it happen.