Tar sands pipelines have the potential to wreak havoc on our waterways, our communities, and our future. After the Kalamazoo tar sands spill, we learned that tar sands oil differs from traditional oil in the difficulty (or maybe even the impossibility) of cleaning it up. This means that the St Croix River, the Namekagon River, the Wisconsin River, the Rock River, and others crossed by pipelines are at risk. As the dirtiest form of oil, tar sands is so carbon-intensive that former NASA scientist James Hansen said development of tar sands oil would mean 'game-over for the climate'. Finally, recent pipeline approval processes with the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Line 3 Pipeline have shown how pipelines jeopardize treaty-protected resources, sacred sites, and the inclusion of tribal governments in permitting processes.
All of these potential impacts will be described in a visual storytelling project. Ten artists from around the state have come together to tell the story of tar sands in the state of Wisconsin. The art exhibit is comprised of ten, 2ft .x 4ft. mixed media panels completed by ten different visual artists from across the state of Wisconsin. Each artist has researched and reflected on one aspect of the often unknown oil pipeline which pumps over 1.2 million barrels of tar sands oil through the state each day. The result is a diverse, powerful, and nuanced look at the oil pipeline story which affects each and every Wisconsinite.
Click below for event details and to RSVP:
Opening Day | April 26 | Neillsville | 6:00 PM
Lac Courtes Oreilles College | April 29 | 10:00 AM
UW- Stevens Point | April 30 | 10:00 AM
UW-Marshfield | April 30 | 5:30 PM
UW-Platteville Baraboo | May 1 | 9:00 AM
Gaia Gathering | Madison | May 2
UW-Whitewater | May 3 | 6:30 PM
UW-Green Bay | May 5 | 10:00 AM
The event will be sponsored by CART, the Sierra Club, the Wisconsin Youth Network (WiYN), the Wisconsin Safe Energy Alliance and additional partners. Following opening weekend, the installation will accompany a youth coordinated “Tar Sands Campus Tour”.
Contributing Artists:
Marjorie Steele Halverson
Anne Jensen
Laura Donovan
Paul Hinsa
Donna Post
Lorenzo Lee Backhaus
Joan Walker
Daniel Torres
Christine Keller
Helen Klebesadel