An Interdisciplinary Exhibition
10,000 Steps: Exploring Our Footprint and Her Long Walk for Water
Ten Thousand Steps was a collaborative, interdisciplinary art project designed to connect the PSU community in a cross campus visual exploration of global water issues. The 2015 project included curriculum connected research, writing, and creative thinking as well as hands-on participation, and culminated in a monumental installation and multiple events that pose the question: Water and 10,000 Steps: Why should we care? Its mission is to raise awareness of global water issues through the topic of access, which currently affects almost eight hundred million people. Sited in Silver Center for the Arts, the installation illustrated the problem of access to water experienced by so many people around the world, with an average of 4 miles(10,000 steps) walked daily.
This collaborative, interdisciplinary art project connected the Plymouth State University(PSU) community in a cross campus visual, scientific, and philosophical exploration of global water issues. The project includes curriculum- connected research, writing, and creative thinking, as well as hands-on participation, culminating in a monumental art installation.
Collaborating Partners
As a curator, my joy comes from creating a network of people that bring layers of information and perspectives, that can expand both the target audiences and the individual experience of the exhibition. For 10,000 Steps, I was fortunate to have an amazing group of willing and wonderful campus partners, as well as the inspiring artist, Christine Destrempes, at the center of the work. It started as a simple idea: that PSU students could participate in the exhibit’s development, contributing concepts, information, and visual elements. Each of these colleagues devoted their precious time, energy, and enthusiasm to the idea, and it grew into a meaningful experience for students and a powerful and important visual installation for the wider community.
At the time, I was Director of The Karl Drerup Art Gallery and Exhibition Program at Plymouth State University. Project Partners included:
Christine Destrempes, visiting artist, Art For Water, With special thanks to Mohawk papers, Jesse Dixon, and Innate Gear for their support
Kimberly Ritchie, PSU Art Department
Jane Barry, Thomas Janis, PSU International Education Week & Global Ambassadors
Brian Eisenhauer, Amy Villamagna, PSU Environment, Social Justice, and Sustainability Department
Maria Sanders, PSU History, Philosophy & Social Studies Education Department.
Ginny Fisher, Bob Bruemmer, Silver Center for the Arts
Interdisciplinary Approach with students working in:
Art: Kimberly Ritchie’s Two Dimensional Design students, used water research generated by environmental students as inspiration to create silk-screened posters. Environment, Social Justice, and Sustainability: Amy Villamagna’s Environmental Science and Policy students researched water access issues and wrote the texts for the exhibition, gathering scientific, qualitative, and anecdotal information. PSU International Education Week: 10,000 Steps and global water issues are centering topics for this year’s International Education Week. PSU’s Global Ambassadors gathered water stories from international students Philosophy: Maria Sanders and Philosophy Club students explored essential questions and concepts, creating prompt questions to invite visitor participation in the exhibit, and assembling a video, included in the exhibit. And the “Philosophy for Life” radio show on November 10 featured an interview with artist, Christine Destrempes.
