Critical Dialogue
Critical Dialogue: Art and the Environment: Considering Climate Change
with Alan Michelson, Miranda Massie, Mary Mattingly
Discover the Workshop
We want our programming to be accessible to a broad audience. Scholarships are awarded on a space-available basis. If you are interested in a scholarship, please reach out to Liz Ferrill at [email protected].
Acclaimed artists Alan Michelson and Mary Mattingly share their journey of confronting climate change in their art with Climate Museum director, Miranda Massie. At a time of growing momentum to reckon with the daunting effects of climate change, we hear the stories of two artists’ approach to using their art to speak about the changing climate and the myriad of ways it has affected communities in the US. Alan Michelson has been a leading practitioner of a socially engaged, critically aware, site-specific art grounded in local context and informed by the retrieval of repressed histories. Mattingly combines photography, performance, portable architecture and sculptural ecosystems into poetic visions of adaptation and survival, offering specific solutions and architectural prototypes that we can build upon in our pursuit of a better life. Miranda Massie, founder of the Climate Museum, a dedicated home for interdisciplinary arts-based climate programming, leads this exciting and pertinent discussion, inviting us all to tackle this difficult reality through the creative lens of art.
Lunch is included and takes place following the program from 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
Media & Techniques
This workshop takes place in Schermer Meeting Hall and consists of lectures and discussions.
Meet Your Faculty
Alan Michelson
Alan Michelson is an internationally recognized New York-based artist, curator, writer, lecturer and Mohawk member of the Six Nations of the Grand River. For over thirty years, he has been a leading practitioner of a socially engaged, critically aware, site-specific art grounded in local context and informed by the retrieval of suppressed histories. Recent exhibitions include the 14th Gwangju Biennale, Enmeshed at the Tate Modern, and Greater New York 2021 at MoMA/PS1. His solo exhibition Alan Michelson: Wolf Nation was…
Miranda Massie
Miranda Massie is the director of New York City’s Climate Museum, the first climate-dedicated museum in the US. The Museum mobilizes interdisciplinary arts programming to empower climate protagonists, recognizing that our civic culture does not currently express the overwhelming public support for transformational climate action that exists across the US. Miranda left a career in civil rights impact litigation to establish the Museum, having been awarded a Mentorship-in-Residence at Yale Law School and W.E.B. DuBois Institute and Wasserstein Public Interest…
Mary Mattingly
Mary Mattingly is an interdisciplinary artist who is driven to explore imagined socio-ecological futures. She builds sculptural ecosystems that prioritize access to food and clean water, resulting in large-scale participatory platforms around the world she calls “proposals”. These proposals rely on absurdity and chance encounters to shift perceptions. In 2016, she led Swale, a floating sculpture and edible landscape on a barge in New York that depended upon water common law and inspired NYC Parks to establish their first public…
Housing is limited and includes shared and private lodging options. Reservations will be managed on a first-come, first-served basis. The earlier you reserve housing, the better your chance of receiving your preferred option. Please note: Workshop costs do not include accommodations.
NEW: Course fees includes a welcome dinner and lunches. In our effort to foster a stronger sense of community and accessibility at Anderson Ranch, we include the welcome dinner and all lunches as part of course fees for summer workshop students. Our hope is that this adjustment will encourage all students to come together to share meals and engage in meaningful conversations. The Ranch Café Meal Plan, which is included with Room and Board fees, strives to provide healthy, creative meals that will nourish your artistic creativity. Learn more.
We have established a Business Safety Plan with added layers of precaution that prioritize the health and safety of our staff, students, faculty and guests while continuing to provide you with the Anderson Ranch experience that you know and enjoy.
Getting to the Ranch, local transportation, and amenities in and around Snowmass Village.
Studio access, shipping, campus policies, and other information for workshop participants.
Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Please read the workshop description carefully to make sure the workshop is appropriate for your skill level. You must be at least 18 years old to attend an adult workshop.
Payment: A deposit of $650 per workshop is required to reserve a space (with or without housing). The balance of tuition, studio and registration fees, and housing is due 60 days prior to the start of your first workshop and is automatically charged to the credit card used for the deposit.
Cancellations: With at least 60 days’ notice, we will refund your payments less a cancellation fee of $250 per workshop. Cancellations made within 60 days of the start of your workshop will result in a full forfeiture. Housing cancellations follow the same 60-day notice, less $200 per week of housing reserved.
Transfers to another workshop or housing option are possible, space permitting, with at least 60 days’ notice and a $25 transfer fee.
Scholarships, College Credit & Discounts
Making Art Accessible
Applications for scholarship support are encouraged. Specific scholarships are funded by Ranch supporters, either through endowed funds or special gifts.
Many colleges and universities offer college credit for workshops taken at Anderson Ranch. Discounts are available for students and teachers.