Join us for Ecotopian Toolmaker Workshops for Delaware Watershed Justice with Nancy Agati, Eli Brown, Juan Hurtado Salazar, JJ Tiziou, & Fereshteh Toosi! Workshops are located at our partner institution, Independence Seaport Museum.
Share and tag us @ppehlab and @phillyseaport! See you soon!
For more information on our artists, see their introductory Field Note.
For complete initiative information, visit the Ecotopian Toolkit project page!
Trans Natures Database with Eli Brown
Date: Saturday, May 21/ upcoming event page
Time: 2 PM
Location: Independence Seaport Museum
As work to develop the Trans Natures Database for the Delaware River watershed starts, participants will undertake guided public fieldwork, including a walking tour along the waterway, departing from Independence Seaport Museum. As we make our way along the river, we will look at various species that call the river home, including animals, fungi, and plants; all of which exhibit multiple genders. We will then consider their use of gender fluidity as a biological survival strategy and record sightings using field notes, drawings, and photography. Everyone is encouraged to share their findings in the Trans Natures Database.
Basins and Borders with Nancy Agati
Date: Saturday, June 4 / upcoming event page
Time: 11 AM
Location: Independence Seaport Museum
The Basins and Borders workshop will make the relationship between water absorption, drainage, runoff, and flooding visible with demonstrations of both permeable and impermeable ground surfaces. Participants will be invited to arrange the basins with permeable materials and then flood the surface with water to observe the rate of absorption and drainage through the screened areas.
In addition, a series of climate maps and diagrams will be shown representing local areas that have an increased risk of flooding due to climate change. Ultimately, this workshop will help residents who inhabit these at-risk areas choose materials to create "buffer zones" along these waterways and in low-lying urban areas to reduce water runoff for necessary climate mitigation.
Walk Around Philadelphia: Ecotopian Toolkit with JJ Tiziou
New date! Wednesday, June 15/ upcoming event page
Time: 2:30-5:00 PM
Location: Independence Seaport Museum
Drop in anytime during the workshop hours.
Come learn about the Delaware River watershed and Philadelphia's relationship to it, how the city's port and river are connected to tributary creeks, industrial sites, and more. Plus, take away a piece of your own artwork at the Walk Around Philadelphia: Ecotopian Toolkit map printing workshop.
Water Radio: Delaware River with Fereshteh Toosi
Date: Saturday, June 18 / upcoming event page
Time: 11 AM
Location: Independence Seaport Museum
This workshop offers a Delaware River sound experience undertaken by kayak, designed by artist and educator Fereshteh Toosi. Through a series of audio prompts, questions, and meditations, accessible by mobile phone, participants will connect with the waterscape and contemplate their personal relationship to the river.
Participants (ages 18+)should bring their phones, earbuds, a water bottle, sunscreen, and a sun hat. In addition, we recommend wearing clothing and shoes that can get wet. Before we depart from the boat basin next to Independence Seaport Museum, kayakers will need to enable their GPS. Please download the free echoes.xyz app before you arrive. Google, Apple
Kitbashing - A Nursery for Futures with Juan Hurtado Salazar
Date: Saturday, June 18 / upcoming event page
Time: 3 PM
Location: Independence Seaport Museum
The workshop is an exercise in kitbashing, i.e., creating a new scale model by combining pieces from commercial kits and other sources. For two hours, surrounded by parts and wholes, tools, and paint, participants of all ages will be invited to collaborate in designing and constructing a scale boat. This "boat" will be a vessel for workshop participants' ideas, reservations, and aspirations, as we live in and through a world shaped by rising tides. Functionally, the workshop offers lessons on buoyancy, balance, and construction. Symbolically, it asks participants to acknowledge and think about the world they inhabit and what they are leaving future generations to inherit as we emerge into a new, climate-changing world. This workshop launches the public phase of creating Salazar's Ecotopian Tool, Watershed Mobile Nursery.
Reception for the 2022 Ecotopian Toolkit Project
JOIN US FOR A FESTIVE EVENING CELEBRATING THE 2022 ECOTOPIAN TOOLKIT PROJECT AND COMPANION EXHIBIT AT INDEPENDENCE SEAPORT MUSEUM! May 20, 2022 - 5:30 pm
You’re Invited! Ecotopian Toolkit Reception
Friday, May 20, 5:30-7pm at Independence Seaport Museum
Reception with light food and drink (cash bar, 21+)
RSVP required, register at: ecoreception.eventbrite.com
Join us for a festive evening celebrating the 2022 Ecotopian Toolkit Project, a collaborative effort between creators and the general public to develop and provide access to shared sustainable tools and knowledge to respond to current and future ecological challenges.