Beth Racette’s “Water Planet” from her “Gaia” series.
Earth-friendliness meets community togetherness at a belated, multidisciplinary Earth Day celebration at Threshold, the colorful east-side events and coworking space.
The Gaia Gathering, May 1-5, is designed to engage the community and encourage neighborly interaction through art and workshops on science, activism and nature.
“We want this to be a cross-pollination of different points of view,” says Efrat Livny, owner of Threshold and co-coordinator of the event. “We’re hoping that the experience becomes informative, and people will actually make choices that are more compatible with our planet.”
May 2 features an opening exhibit of paintings by Beth Racette, Embodying Gaia: From Plunder of the Earth to Transformative Beauty. Racette is the event co-coordinator and Overture Center’s community engagement coordinator. She spent eight years creating the series, which focuses on such topics as the prison industry, racism and the destruction of the biosphere.
“The unifying theme in most of my work is interconnection and flow — exploring these themes led me to the understanding that all life is interconnected and that the Earth is alive,” says Racette. “In this competitive, profit- and consumption-driven society, we are often severed from one another and the larger web of life. I want to help re-weave these connections.”
That same evening includes the exhibition Tar Sands Oil and Pipeline: A cradle to grave story, organized by the Sierra Club and 350 Madison, as well as a dance and spoken word performance.
Threshold’s contribution to the citywide Gallery Night on May 3 is an exhibit and a community mural creation led by the Latinx artist collective Synapses. A ticketed event that same night, a benefit for Threshold, is called Soul In The Multiverse: An Evening Adventure with bestselling author and dream shaman Robert Moss.
The Gaia Gathering aims to encourage discussions on human relationships with Earth, including the impact of socioeconomic status, age, gender and ethnicity. This falls in line with Threshold’s mission of building a place for the community to interact, from office space and coworking to retreats and events, with creativity and well-being in mind.
The Beehive Day, on Saturday, comprises workshops on movement, writing, the environment, green burial, mycology and effigy mounds. Sunday afternoon and evening events include a Qi Gong class, a family neighborhood walk, and a guided tour and talk on sustainability at Olbrich Gardens. The Gaia Gathering wraps up with a community potluck and a presentation by a student climate activist.
“What’s important to us is that people come and participate, that they partake, because they are the event,” says Livny. “That is a lot how Earth is. Earth is an invitation to participate.”
