Public Speaking

“TRUE COLORS: How Art Transformed a Superfund Community”

In this public talk, I showcase my role as an artist: I COLOR contamination to help communities advocate for a cleaner future

Why does this matter?

A lot of our toxic contamination resides outside of our ability to perceive with our human sensory apparatus. By using art techniques to make the contamination visible in public space, people can see and feel where the contamination is and start to make their own choices about how best to live moving forward.  

How did I come to care about this?

I grew up in Ashland Massachusetts, in the center of which is the Nyanza Superfund Site, one of the first of the 10 sites that launched the EPA’s Superfund Program. We were also studied by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health who later declared that we had a cancer-cluster attributed to Nyanza.

 Why COLOR?

The source of contamination in Ashland was the Nyanza Colorant Plant, that’s right—color contaminated my hometown as Nyanza was chemically producing dyes for textiles.  

 How can we use COLOR together to help your community?

My art focuses on environmental justice and how art can address our shared traumas. My project “Illuminating Futures: Ashland & Nyanza” made public the contamination to reveal the unseen narrative of cancer clusters, human loss, activism, and ultimately regeneration. I’m exploring how using COLOR can help other communities facing their own contamination.

Recent Public Speaking Engagements:

2022- Catalyst Conversations: Art, Science, Activism: What Science Can Learn From Artists

https://www.catalystconversations.org/art-science-activism-what-science-can-learn-from-artists

2022- Nuclear Visions:  In conversation with Glenna Cole Allee, Takashi Arai, and Dan Borelli

https://emersoncontemporary.org/event/nuclear-visions-in-conversation-with-glenna-cole-allee/

Presented by Emerson Contemporary and the Department of Visual and Media Arts, Emerson College

2021- Article in the Associated Press: https://apnews.com/article/business-environment-1d039e0b8258ba197bf83225d54d598d