The Bascom will open the "Listening to the Land" project in December.
The Bascom: Center for the Visual Arts will be kicking off its upcoming nine-month community program with a reception celebrating its newest exhibition, “With Rapture and Astonishment” on Thursday, Dec. 15 from 5 p.m. until 6:30 p.m
The project, which is entitled “Listening to the Land: Reimagining the Bartram Trail,” is a collaboration between the Bascom, the Blue Ridge Bartram Trail Conservancy and the Kinship Photography Collective and will include a multitude of events, exhibitions and opportunities while tying in the Bascom’s yearly theme of place.
“This collaborative project was inspired by the Bartram Trail,” Kinship Photography Collective Member and Documentary Photographer Susan Patrice said. “William Bartram’s humility before nature and deep respect for the natural world have been a source of inspiration to artists and writers worldwide. William Bartram was a great listener to the land. In the spirit of the joy of noticing and noting the wonders and intricacies of the natural world, his own intimate drawings and writings remind us of how precious yet precarious our natural resources are and the importance of their stewardship for future generations.”
The project’s first installment, “With Rapture and Astonishment” photography exhibition, aims to highlight the powerful role that photography plays in helping people connect with and reimagine their connection to their home. The exhibition’s name was inspired by a 1775 quote from William Bartram, in which he wrote he ‘beheld with rapture and astonishment, a sublimely awful scene of power and magnificence, mountains piled upon mountains.’
“In the face of our current climate crisis, we must find new and creative ways to transform our relationships with the more-than-human world,” Patrice said. “This requires new ways of seeing and responding to the places we inhabit. William Bartram’s writings and reflections inspire humility, wonder, and curiosity and help us reimagine our fundamental relationship with nature while offering us a gentle and encouraging path home.”
“Listening to the Land” will include multiple exhibits and projects, with a specific focus on photography. Patrice said she hopes it will be a source of inspiration for photographers while demonstrating the practice of visual listening.
“The Kinship photographers featured in this exhibition are well-practiced visual listeners,” Patrice said. “This project-shaping exhibition invites viewers to step into an intimate world where landscape images are revealed not as objects to be admired but as intimate portraits of an alive place waiting to be met and listened to.”
All photographers are encouraged to participate in the project and attend the free opening reception. More information on the project will also be shared in an online event on Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. This event will also include a virtual tour of the gallery and artist talks. Additional workshops, nature walks, online programs and exhibition opportunities will be available over the next nine months.
“All participating artists will have their photos archived,” Patrice said. “A select number of photographs will be exhibited in Fall 2023 in the Bunzl gallery at The Bascom. We are very eager and excited to include as many photographers as possible.”
For more information on the “Listening to the Land” project or the “With Rapture and Astonishment” reception, visit www.thebascom.org.