Presented by CALL/ City as Living Laboratory and the DC Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE)

Join artists Cary Michael Robinson and Nicole Salimbene, along with environmental scientists and community organizers, for a day of walking/talking/making along Watts Branch & Oxon Run streams and neighborhoods in Washington DC. This event is an invitation to honor the power of water through creative expression, and to learn more about the flood risks and mitigation programs/actions to protect the community and the surrounding waterways in Ward 7 and Ward 8.

Please note, this event consists of two parts. When registering, please indicate your interest in each walk separately.

Date: Saturday, June 24th, 2023 (Rain date: Sunday, June 25th)  

Part 1 Time: 11am- 1pm, Watts Branch  

Part 2 Time: 2pm-4pm, Oxon Run Park

Part 1: 11am-1pm // Rising Waters: Talk, Walk & Weave 

Meeting Point, 4801 Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave NE (Lederer Gardens), Watts Branch

We will start the walk in the Watts Branch neighborhood to gain an understanding of houses within the floodplain and end the walk in Marvin Gaye Park where the Watts Branch Creek runs. Participants will be invited to share stories and observations of nature, the neighborhoods, equity and environmental justice. Scientists and organizers will share information about flood risk management and flood mitigation programs currently available for residents. The artists will weave together imagery and stories to visualize these issues for greater awareness and lead the group in a collective art action. 

Part 2: 2pm-4pm // Cooling Waters: Gather, Reflect & Rest

Meeting Point: James E. Bunn Amphitheater, Oxon Run Park

We will meet in Oxon Run Park to focus on the relational, reflective and restful aspects of gathering together in nature, as we continue to share and integrate what we are learning about flooding in the area. Artists, scientists and community organizers will create a collaborative action with the group that holds space for honoring the power of water.

Walk Leaders

Dr. Alsean Bryant is residency-trained Strategic Support Team Clinical Pharmacist at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation for the DC, MD, and VA region. In this role, Dr. Alsean Bryant uses both his clinical expertise and creative skill sets to deliver optimal health services to patients, and spearhead initiatives to promote wellness while building strong partnerships within communities of need. By night, Dr. Bryant serves his creative talents. As an artist, he is a singer/songwriter who writes music for himself and others; and has landed over two dozen song placements with artists and TV/Film to include BET, Watch All Black, Tubi, and Netflix.

Dr. Travis Gallo is an Assistant Professor in Urban Ecology and Conservation in the Department of Environmental Science and Technology at the University of Maryland. Travis works to understand how urban environments shape species distributions, populations, communities, and behaviors. The goal of his research is to provide evidence-based solutions that simultaneously conserve biological diversity and improve the lives of urban residents.

Brenda Richardson is an eco-feminist and has been working on welfare reform, environmental justice, economic development, education, behavioral health and health issues for the past 30 years. She currently serves as the Coordinator of the Anacostia Parks & Community Collaborative as well the President of  Chozen Consulting, LLC , a consulting company that focuses on community engagement, facilitation, training, and government relations, and is the Principal for “Women Like Us,” an initiative that focuses on design thinking for women. She is also the Vice-Chair of the Friends of Oxon Run Park.

Cary Michael Robinson is an interdisciplinary and mixed media artist. Cary combines art, technology and social activism to raise public awareness and inspire social change. This juxtaposition of mediums allows him to artistically convey complex concepts through hybrid imagery that prompts deep reflection and inspires curiosity and thought. Either by constructing narratives or creating artwork that expresses my personal opinions, he invites viewers to reflect, connect, heal, elevate and be radically inspired towards positive, real-world action. 

Nicole Salimbene works at the intersection of poetics, psychology, environmentalism and contemplative practice. Her art aims to provoke self-inquiry and dialogue regarding social issues. Taking a conceptual approach, she is interested in constructing sculptures, paintings and interactive installations as a way for viewers to embody metaphors presented for reflection. Through form and idea, she searches for the poetics of materiality and relationship, and the transformation that arises from wrestling with internal and external worlds. She is particularly drawn to the elegance and monumentality found in the ordinary and ephemeral.

Dr. Jennifer Sklarew is Assistant Professor, Energy and Sustainability Policy (ESP), Food-Energy-Water-Climate Nexus, Social Science, George Mason University. She brings 30 years of energy and environmental policymaking and analysis to her research and teaching. Dr. Sklarew coordinates the department's MS Concentration in Energy and Sustainability Policy and Science, which she developed. She also teaches graduate and undergraduate energy policy and food-energy-water nexus courses she developed for ESP.  Her published and funded work examines how institutional relationships and catastrophic events drive energy and environmental policymaking and change.

About The Organizers

CALL/WALKS is a national program of artists and scientist-led community walks spearheaded by City as Living Laboratory. These walks serve as a starting point for creative, innovative, and community-led responses to our cities' most pressing environmental challenges. You can learn more about CALL/WALKS and access the toolkit here.

The DC Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE) is the leading authority on energy and environmental issues affecting the District of Columbia. Using a combination of regulations, outreach, education, and incentives, our agency administers programs and services to fulfill our mission. We work collaboratively with other government agencies, residents, businesses, and institutions to promote environmentally responsible behavior that will lead to a more sustainable urban environment.

Mason Exhibitions is a cross-disciplinary curatorial platform with six public galleries on the Arlington, Fairfax, and Manassas campuses of George Mason University. Featuring contemporary art across all media, Mason Exhibitions aims to expand the role of artists in society. Through its research partnership with Provisions Research Center for Arts Social Change, Mason Exhibitions develops gallery exhibitions and public programs that engage transformational questions around philosophy, social justice, communications, conflict resolution, identity, technology, and environmental sustainability.