Reluctantly, the image above was selected as a symbol of the utter disconnect our "leaders" have with this incredible superorganism we live on. There have also been a shocking number of chemical meltdowns recently impacting waterways due to aging infrastructure and more recent deregulation. The news is relentless, and rightfully so, we shut down. Though, we must pick ourselves back up and respond lest we lose even more ground. Seek the solace you need this summer to keep your sanity, and know that as artists, your work is even more important in today's chaotic climate. 

On a positive note, the response to our Water World call for artists was impressive, with almost 200 submissions. Since the call was launched back in March, we have welcomed 50 new members! Works will be reviewed over the summer, and by fall we will reach out to artists individually for more information. The book will be designed next year and available fall 2027. Thank you to everyone who submitted work!

We now have a page on our website that features the exhibitions and residencies scheduled at Swale House on Governors Island in New York City through October. Your participation is encourage with our textile burial project in the Soil Shroud Room. see below 

This month we will present the sixth and final edition of the Wicked Monstrous Dialogues, focused on artists who are making work with upcycled plastics and addressing plastic waste. register for Zoom event below

We welcome our new members and look forward to hearing more from you about your work!

Patricia Watts, founder/curator

Header Image: Moment Blue Origin rocket explodes during test in Florida, May 28, 2026

ecoartspace@SwaleHouseNYC

ecoartspace at Swale House, Governors Island, NYC

June Exhibitions/Residencies/Programs

• June 1–June 14: Aviva Rahmani Tidal Flushing residency and hallway exhibit, porch conversation June 7 at 1pm EDT
• June 20: Lauren Alyssa Bierly and Melinda K. Santiago, learn the textile burial process and how to clean exhumed textiles 2-4pm EDT
• June 15–June 21: Elisabeth Condon Liquid Paper dining room exhibit/ residency
  
• June 15–June 21: Melinda K. Santiago Horizons Below living room exhibit
• June 22–July 5: The Soil Factory- Manifestos/Manifestations with Ben Altman, Anna Davidson, Johannes Lehmann and Linda Weintraub living and dining room exhibit/residency

Be sure to say hello to Walker Tufts, Swale House in-residence director

events

WICKED MONSTROUS Dialogues: Part Vl

Thursday, June 18 Timebuddy

United States: 10am HDT, 1pm PDT, 2pm MDT, 3pm CST, 4pm EDT

Europe: 21:00 GMT, 22:00 CET  Australia: Friday, June 19, 6:00am AEDT

For this sixth and final dialogue, we will hear from four artists, including: Anne Katrin Spiess and her processional Death By Plastic Series, Andrea Polli and her biofoam projects that provide an inquiry into alternatives to traditional polystyrene, Karen Hackenberg who paints plastic waste found along shore lines in the Pacific Northwest, and Tyler Burton and her stratified forms that echo geological layers, fossils, and systems of accumulation.

This event is free for members + one guest. $5 for non-members. All participants MUST REGISTER.

Wicked Monstrous  coming fall 2026

Online, print-on-demand and limited edition book: 130 artists

Aindreas Scholz, Alanna Baird, Alejandro Duran, Alicia Escott, Amanda Thackray, Andrea Polli, Ann Savageau, Anna Mein, Anne-Katrin Spiess, Annette Nykiel, Ashton Phillips, Barbara Cooper, Barbara Lubliner, Bee (Beverly) Naidus, Belén Millán, Benjamin Von Wong, Beth Bando, Beth Shepherd, Bethany Taylor, Bev J Elgar, Blue McRight, Bryan Northup, Calder Kamin, Carol Sogard, Carolien Adriaansche, Caroline MacMoran, Charity Ridpath, Charlotte Bastian, Christine Mackey, Christy Rupp, Cindy Pease Roe, Clare Thomas, Cody Norman, Colette Copeland, Constance Mallinson, Constance Old, Cynthia Minet, David Ellingsen, Dawn Stetzel, Deanna Pindell, Devan Horton, Diedra Krieger, Duke Riley, Elisabeth Condon, Elise Marks Vazelakis, Elizabeth McAlpin, Ellen Driscoll, Emma Akmakdjian, Eurhi Jones, Faith Bebbington, Felipe-Andres Piedra, Francesca Busca, Griffith Aaron Baker, Heather Law, Heidi Dauphin, Hollis Hammonds, Ian Trask, Janine Brown, Jemma Woolmore, Jennifer Kotter, Johanna Törnqvist, Judith Selby Lang and Richard Lang, Kalliopi Monoyios, Karen Hackenberg, Kat Kazlauskas, Katharine K. Owens, Kate Dodd, Katharine Harvey, Kathleen King, Kathryn Frund, Katy Rodden Walker, Kelsey Merreck Wagner, Kelly Marie O'Brien, Kim Bernard, Laura Nova, Laurie Riccadonna, Leah Dalton, Leah Mata Fragua, Leticia Bajuyo, Liina Klauss, Luba Zygarewicz, Lynn Cazabon, Margaret Smithers-Crump, Marguerite Perret, Martha Lewis, Megan Wong, Minal Mistry, Monique Martin, Natalya Khorover, Nicole Cooper, Nicole Dextras, Nicole Hixon, Niki Lederer, Ogwado Joachim, Pamela Longobardi, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Pauline Galiana,  Pierre Leichner, Portia Munson, Posey (Pamela) Moulton, Rebecca McGee Tuck, Reenie Charriere, Riva Weinstein, Robert Lach, Robin Frohardt, Ruth Peche, Ruth Tabancay, Sandra Suubi (above), Sara Mast, Sarah Knobel, Sarah Umles, Sari Nordman, Sayaka Ganz, Scott Bluedorn, Serge Attukwei Clottey, Shani Nottingham, Shelli Rottschafter, Steve McPherson, STUDIOKCA, Swapna Namboodiri, Taina Litwak, Tara de la Garza, Toby Zallman, TOMO, Tracy Penn, Twyla Exner, Tyler Burton, Virginia Katz, Wiebke Schroeder, Yevgenia Davidoff, Zelda Zinn 

blog posts

PLAYA’s Approach to Socially and Ecologically Engaged Community-driven Art Projects Blending Art and Science in Rural Oregon, interview with Kathryn Wilson, Program Manager by Olivia Ann Carye-Hallstein 

featured artist

lisa moren

Sea levels along Maryland’s shores are projected to rise a foot and half by 2050. For Moren's recent installation titled The Polar Ice Museum, the artist collaborated with iHARP to animate climate data collected from the earth’s polar regions, as well as Earth’s carbon events, rising temperature since 1880, windheads from medieval maps, icebergs and glacial movements, and sea level rise. The visualizations are presented as a constellation of images via monitors that arc around the viewer in a game-like environment. www.lisamoren.com

store

Soils Turn PREORDERS 

The first edition is S O L D  O U T (300).... 50 Second edition orders were shipped at the end of April. Additional printing scheduled for June/July 2026, delivery July/August. Online book viewing/interacting will be available soon. 

Go to store

announcements

Interview with Elise Marks Vazelakis, Textile Arts Center, Brooklyn, New York. May 4, 2026. above

A City of Humors is an essay by Mary Mattingly, written for The Brooklyn Rail, December/January 2025-2026.

LMCC 2026 Arts Center Residency on Governors Island, awarded to Sari Nordman who will be working on her Anxiety project including tapestries made of recycled plastics, Lisa Ann Schonberg who will create new sound works, Nicole Cooper who is making mushroom paper and Duy Hoàng who will be developing a water library of trees. Through October 2026. 

Note: Several of our members have Substack accounts now and are posting regularly including Aviva Rahmani, WhiteFeather Hunter, Abigail Doan, Lauren Bon and Metabolic Studio, Eternal Forest via Evgenia Emets, and Vaughn Bell. We have added a box for members to add a substack link to their membership profile, which will be visible in member directory. please add

PO Box 5211, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87502