Climate Change through the Lens of Art + Science

In celebration of the Central Library's newest exhibition Good Natured, we are partnering with WILDCOAST in hosting a special panel discussion titled "Climate Change through the Lens of Art + Science" that invites local scientists as well as artist featured in the exhibition to exchange ideas and opinions on the ways the arts will have a very important role in finding solutions to address our current poly-crisis (ecology, economy, energy, equity).

The exhibition Good Natured will be onview through July 29, 2023. 

Panelists include:

Serge Dedina, Ph.D. - Executive Director

@wildcoastcostasalvaje

Serge Dedina is the Executive Director of WILDCOAST, an international team that conserves coastal and marine ecosystems and addresses climate change through natural solutions. Under Serge’s leadership, WILDCOAST has become a leading organization in carrying out blue carbon coastal wetland and mangrove conservation and projects in the U.S. and Mexico, creating hundreds of jobs for rural communities and women’s cooperatives. Serge grew up in Imperial Beach where he still lives and served as Mayor from 2014 to 2022. During his tenure as Mayor, Imperial Beach was the first city in the world to sue the fossil fuel industry for causing climate change, a suit that has since been joined in by or replicated by San Francisco, Oakland, Boulder, Santa Cruz, Baltimore, Honolulu, and the state of Rhode Island. Serge received a B.A. in Political Science from UC San Diego and a Ph.D in Geography from the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of three books on conservation in Mexico and the borderlands and his work has been reported on by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NBC News, CBS News, Washington Post, BBC, NPR, Los Angeles Times, and the San Diego Union Tribune.

Oriana Poindexter, Marine Scientist and Photographer

@opoindex

Focused on the intersection of art, science, and marine natural resources, Oriana earned her degrees at Princeton University and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. She went on to work for nearly a decade with academic institutions, government agencies, and environmental organizations as an expert in the sustainable seafood and fisheries management arenas. Her work has been featured by the Getty Museum and The Wall Street Journal, and she has created interpretive visual exhibits for the Aquarium of the Pacific and the Birch Aquarium. She founded Pelagic Projects in 2020 to focus on interdisciplinary projects that engage the senses, inspire awe, and impact positive change for the oceans. Oriana is based in San Diego, CA, where she is working on her first book, The Iridescent Ones, to visualize the natural and cultural history of abalone species on the Pacific West Coast. 

Terri Hughes-Oelrich, Artist and Professor of Visual Arts

@hughesoelrich

Terri Hughes-Oelrich is an artist residing in San Diego and an Associate Professor of Art at San Diego City College. She received her MFA degree from San Diego State University and a BA in Art Studio from University of California, Santa Barbara

Heidi Dewar, PhD

Dr. Heidi Dewar is a fisheries research biologist at NOAA Fisheries and has been studying a range of highly migratory species (tuna, sharks and billfish) for over 30 years. Her over-arching interest is in sustainability of both fish populations and human communities in the face of climate change. 

Trevor Amery, Artist and Professor of Visual Arts

@trevor_amery

Trevor Amery received his BFA from MICA, MFA from UC San Diego, and attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2013. He is a recipient of a Fulbright fellowship to Hungary, a Santo Foundation Individual Artist Award, and residencies at the Fountainhead, Arteles Creative Center, Teton Artlab, and more recently at Bemis Center for Contemporary Art. He represented the U.S. at the 2012 Kathmandu International Art Festival and has exhibited at such venues as Jackson Hole Center for the Arts, the Skanzen Museum, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA), Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, MAMU Galerie, Moore College, and Gallery Protocol. 

Gallery Hours:

Monday and Tuesday, 1 – 7 p.m.

Wednesday – Saturday, Noon – 5 p.m.

Sunday, 1-5 p.m