WESTMINSTER ART FESTIVAL

Artists and poets are invited to submit work that sheds light on issues of environmental justice.         

 

We all share “one planet” but we don’t share it very well. Its beauty and bounty don’t benefit all equally. Nor are the harmful results of environmental damage experienced equally.

 

Consider: who has access to nature, green space, and land? Who is able to say, to a landfill or polluting industry, “not in my backyard” and who is not?  Whose “backyard” is protected and whose can be damaged or destroyed? Who has a right to clean water and clean air?  Who feels ownership of parks and public land?… and who feels unwelcome in those places?   What happens to communities displaced from their land due to “progress” or “development”?  Who gets a voice in decisions? How do we take better care of our own “backyards” and also take care of communities both nearby and farther afield?

 

Who does any land really belong to?  What are our responsibilities to those who lived there in the past, or to future generations?

 

These are all things we want to explore with this theme. 

 

You might consider things like the way tree cover in many cities is lush in wealthy areas but sparse in low-income neighborhoods; the impact of mines or pipelines on traditional sacred lands; or the consequences to those who live where they are exposed to high levels of pesticides or frequent hurricanes. You might also explore efforts of those to protect the health and ecosystems of their communities, or enable access to natural spaces for all.