In their No. 1 Sun Engine, Christina Hemauer and Roman Keller deal with a largely forgotten episode from the early history of the commercial use of solar energy: in 1913, Philadelphia-based engineer and inventor Frank Shuman inaugurated the first large-scale solar power generator in Maadi near Cairo.
Presentations, activities, discussion on solar power and its possibilities
Philly-based artist/curators, Ricky Yanas and Kristen Neville Taylor invite you to The Green Sun: A Micro-Symposium, a day-long series of artist presentations, activities and panel discussions focusing on the intersection of art and policy as they relate to solar power, the history of energy and possible futures.
“To make a Secondary World inside which the green sun will be credible, commanding Secondary Belief, will probably require labour and thought, and will certainly demand a special skill, a kind of elvish craft. Few attempt such difficult tasks. But when they are attempted and in any degree accomplished then we have a rare achievement of Art: indeed narrative art, story-making in its primary and most potent mode.”
In this passage, famed fantasy writer, J. R. R. Tolkien speaks to the nuanced labor, the “elvish craft” of creating a world in which “the green sun” exists for the reader. Accordingly, our program asks: What is required to imagine solar energy as commonplace? What is necessary for crafting a vision of the future? What role does art play?
The Green Sun: Micro-Symposium, is a series of artist presentations, a workshop and a panel discussion that will focus on the intersection of art and policy as they relate to solar power, the history of energy and possible futures. The symposium will take place from 10 AM to 4 PM on Sunday, August 25, 2019 in the Icebox Project Space, located at the Crane Arts building in the South Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, hosting members of the arts, policy and commercial sectors, and the general public. Responding to the public desire and civic efforts towards developing more sustainable energy sources, this event will serve as a catalyst for bridging dialogue across communities and generate new ways of thinking about and implementing solar technology. This program will be the starting point for a larger, developing project/exhibition called The Green Sun, which will consider solar power for its practical and narrative potential towards envisioning a healthier, more equitable world (opening at Atelier FAS Gallery in September).
The Green Sun: A Micro-Symposium will be comprised of three presentations followed by lunch, a break-out session and a panel discussion. Swiss artists, Roman Keller and Christina Hemauer will present on their project No. 1 Sun Energy which originally brought them to Philadelphia in 2007 to research Frank Shuman, an early solar pioneer who kept a laboratory in Tacony, PA. In addition to serving on the panel, Aurash Khawarzad will present on his project.
Decolonize Energy Mixtape, a method he’s developed to generate multimedia educational content about public policy based on the way audio mixtapes shaped the way music was produced and shared. Award winning, film-maker and sound artist, Chet Pancake will present “Slow Selves Futures”, a brief overview of Pancake’s creative work regarding mountaintop removal in southern WV, air pollution from natural gas infrastructure for the project “Citizen Sense,” and a recent work “Arboreal” exploring somatic and phenomenological experiences of arboreal blockaders on the Mountain Valley Pipeline. These presentations will provide a context for the solar panel discussion later in the program. Following lunch, organizers, Nora Elmarzouky and Anthony Giancatarino will lead a group activity breaking down the power structure of our energy system. The day will end with a panel discussion addressing the ways that professionals in the fields of art, policy and commerce can use their expertise to make solar energy technology accessible to more Philadelphians.
Panelists will include founder of Solar States (Philadelphia-based solar energy equipment supplier/educator), Micah Gold-Markel, head of Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA)’s Solarize Philly campaign, Laura Rigell, cultural broker/ organizer, Nora Elmarzouky, and individual artists Aurash Kawarzhad (N YC Artist, Educator, and Urban Planner) and Chet Pancake (Bloodlands (2016) & Queer Genius (2019)) . The panel will be moderated by Bethany Wiggin, founding director of the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities.
Free & open to the public / Coffee, lunch & snacks provided / Seats are limited / RSVP HERE
Program Schedule
9:30 am - Doors open
9:45 am - Coffee & Introductions
10:00 am - Aurash Khawarzad
10:45 am - Chet Catherine Pancake
11:30 am - Roman Keller and Christina Hemauer
12:00 pm - Lunch
1:00 pm - Breakout Session w/ Nora Elmarzouky & Anthony Giancatarino
1:30 pm - Panel discussion moderated by Bethany Wiggin
3:00 pm - Q & A
3:30 pm - Announcements
3:45 pm - Goodbyes/Thank yous
About the Organizers
Ricky Yanas and Kristen Neville Taylor are artists, educators, and curators. Working within a pragmatic tradition of problem finding, Yanas aims to create intersectional spaces of inquiry and mutual engagement through art making and art thinking. Recent projects include Extension or Communication: Puerto Rico at Tiger Strikes Asteroid Gallery Philadelphia and Taller Puertorriqueno. In 2016, Yanas founded Ulises Books with Nerissa Cooney, Lauren Downing, Joel Evey, Kayla Romberger, and Gee Wesley.
Taylor investigates multiple truths to reveal diverse perspectives in dominant social, political and historical narratives. Her work has been shown at Vox Populi, the Woodmere Art Museum and the Philadelphia Art Alliance (Philadelphia), Pacific Northwest College of Art (Portland), Richard Stockton and Rowan University Art Galleries (New Jersey), and Expo Chicago. She has organized several exhibitions including Landscape Techne at Little Berlin, The Usable Earth at the Esther Klein Gallery, and she co-curated Middle of Nowhere in the Pine Barrens. Taylor is a recent alumni of Vox Populi gallery and co-founder of Little Berlin, a Philadelphia art gallery and collective renowned both nationally and internationally for its cutting edge programming and distinct curatorial model. Together they maintain a working group that meets to share readings and conduct workshops that address the climate crisis.
About The Contributors
Nora Elmarzouky is a cultural broker/organizer, who designs and facilitates programming on a range of themes such as cultural understanding, identity, Egyptian culture, education, immigration, arts and culture, storytelling, diversity and equity, philanthropy, and interfaith understanding, as well as writing and public speaking. A co-founder of in.site collaborative, a collective of women dedicated to equitable, engaging, and inclusive urban spaces, she consults and evaluates alternative community engagement methods. RE-humanization and collective collaboration are central to her work, demonstrated currently through the partnership with Ebony Suns exploring energy democracy and the green economy as a framework for bottom-up community-driven development with Centennial Parkside CDC and managing Friends, Peace, and Sanctuary - a collaborative exhibitions project between Swarthmore College, book artists, and Syrian and Iraqi resettled individuals. She is a board member of YallaPunk, Barrio Alegria, and the East Parkside Residents Association; Impact100 founders fellow, and co-founder of PHL Niqash discussion group.
Anthony Giancatarino is a father of three and lives in Philadelphia, PA. In addition to his role as a dad, he is currently a project fellow on Just Community Energy Transitions (JCET) housed at the Movement Strategy Innovation Center. In this fellowship, Anthony works with community partners in building out anti-racist practices and community-driven processes to support alignment, policy development, strategy, and collective governance to advance energy democracy at both national and local levels. Locally, Anthony collaborates with Philly Climate Works and POWER and partners with the Center for Coalfield Justice on statewide work. Previously, Anthony spent seven years at the Center for Social Inclusion, working with community organizations to support policy strategies to achieve racial equity in energy democracy, food equity, and transparency, participation, and accountability in governance.
Christina Hemauer and Roman Keller live in Zurich, Switzerland. Recent exhibitions include United Alternative Energies, Centre for Contemporary Art, Aarhus, Denmark, curated by Latitudes (2011) and the 11th Cairo International Biennale, Cairo (2009). Using re-creation and re-enactment to revitalise the optimism of these pioneering projects, Hemauer and Keller also highlight the time that has since lapsed; that these were “roads not taken”. They revisit episodes in the history of oil and solar energy to ask questions about the present energy situation: increased dependence on, and continued conflict over, fossil fuels. Since 2003 the focus of their research-based practice has been the concept of energy as a defining force of modern society, including works and performances that herald the post-petroleum age and map the relationship between the history of energy and modern art.
Aurash Khawarzad is an Artist, Educator, and Urban Planner. His work emphasizes the combination of research, creative practice, and multi-disciplinary collaboration, in the process of visioning cities. Most recently he created of The Upper Manhatta(n) Project, a model for analyzing and communicating the impacts of climate change. He is originally from Virginia and has been practicing in New York City since 2009.
Chet Catherine Pancake is an award-winning filmmaker, video, new media, and sound artist. They have exhibited at national and international venues such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Royal Ontario Museum, Baltimore Museum of Art, Murray Art Museum Albury, Australia, Shanghai Conservatory – Shanghai PRC, and Academy of Fine Arts, Prague. Pancake’s narrative and experimental documentary work has been screened at over 150 venues nationally, as well as broadcast (entirely or as excerpts) in the US and UK on the Sundance Channel, PBS, FreeSpeech Television, and the CommunityChannelUK. Their films are nationally & internationally distributed by Bullfrog Films and Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre and are held in permanent collections in over 100 university and museum archives nationally. Pancake is an Assistant Professor in the Film and Media Arts Program at Temple University. Pancake is a 2017 Leeway Transformation Award winner.
Laura Rigell has led the Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA)’s solar efforts since 2017. She developed and implemented the nation’s largest Solarize campaign, which helped build a residential solar market in Philadelphia – the 4th fastest-growing solar market in the US. Laura’s work prioritizes equity, creating new vehicles to support solar for low- and moderate-income households citywide, and starting the School District’s first solar and energy efficiency training program, Find Your Power, focusing on high school students. Laura has raised funds through federal, state and corporate grants to support institutional, commercial and residential solar deployment in Philadelphia, and provides support to the City’s utility-scale renewables projects. Additionally, Laura leads PEA’s stakeholder engagement related to renewable energy and climate change. Outside of PEA, Laura is active with Serenity Soular, a grassroots initiative designed to drive equitable solar jobs and installations in North Philadelphia. Laura has a BA from Swarthmore College and a Masters of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania.
Bethany Wiggin is the Founding Director of the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities and an Associate Professor of German. Her scholarship explores histories of migration, ecology, language and cultural translation since the Columbian exchange on both sides of the Atlantic world. She is author of the book, Novel Translations: The German Novel and the European Book, 1680-1730 (Cornell UP); editor of three volumes, Un/Translatables: New Maps for Germanic Literatures (Northwestern UP, with Catriona MacLeod), Babel of the Atlantic (Penn State UP), and Timescales: Ecological Temporalities across Disciplines (under review, with Carolyn Fornoff and Patricia Kim); and a special issue of the German Studies Review on The Rise and Fall of Monolingualism (forthcoming 2019, with David Gramling).
Micah Gold-Markel founded Solar States in 2008, a certified B Corporation, which is taking the opportunity to affect positive environmental and economic change by making a commitment to solar energy project implementation and education. In addition to installing solar arrays on schools, homes, and commercial buildings, Solar States works to connect students from our region with the green-collar economy through training and jobs, investing in the region’s future and our local economy.
Solar States and it’s founder, Micah Gold-Markel, began the Philadelphia Solar Schools Initiative which creates educational and workforce development partnerships where we offer solar industry training and provide career opportunities to people who are interested and motivated to join the solar industry. In 2016 Solar States hired five full time employees from the education and workforce development program pipeline. Their vision is to use solar as a force for social change.
Our Sponsors and Host
Penn Treaty Special Services District (PTSSD) is a nonprofit, private foundation formed by volunteers from four neighborhoods named in the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) reached with SugarHouse Casino in 2009. Tiger Strikes Asteroid is a network of artist-run spaces with locations in Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Each space is independently operated and focuses on presenting a varied program of emerging and mid-career artists. Our goal is to collectively bring people together, expand connections and build community through artist-initiated exhibitions, projects, and curatorial opportunities. We seek to further empower the artist’s role beyond that of studio practitioner to include the roles of curator, critic, and community developer; and to act as an alternate model to the conventions of the current commercial art market.
Icebox Project Space is an innovative and experimental contemporary arts platform where visual artists, musicians, film makers, and performers are able to work, think, and collaborate within a uniquely large scale and open structure. Icebox Project Space is located at 2600 N 5th St, Philadelphia, PA 19133. For further questions, press inquiries, and images please contact: Ricky Yanas at (210) 275-8422 or email: ryanas84@gmail.com