The San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation Demonstration Garden at Cal State San Bernardino will be the focal point this spring when CSUSB students showcase a series of temporary art projects and workshops through “Public Art in the WRI Garden.”
The series opens with an upcycling workshop, “Trashformation: Bottles & Bags,” to celebrate Earth Day on Saturday, April 23, from 9 a.m. to noon, and more free events are scheduled through June.
Interactive sculptures, installations, and social practices will be conducted at the garden, located on the east side of the campus near the CSUSB Student Recreation and Wellness Center, next to Parking Lot G.
The art projects and demonstrations are aimed at engaging audiences through the use of social media, interactions and other activities.
The public is encouraged to visit the garden regularly, as some artworks will transform over the duration of the events throughout the spring.
The schedule for “Public Art in the WRI Garden:”
- April 23: 9 a.m.-noon, “Trashformation: Bottles & Bags” workshop;
- May 19: “Terrarium Time” workshop;
- May 21: “H2O Blue Print” workshop;
- May 26: 1-5 p.m.: “Trashformation: Bottles & Bags,” “Terrarium Time,” and “H2O Blue Print” workshops;
- May 26: 5-7 p.m.: “Project Color,” “Raindance Art,” “The Portrait Machine” opening;
- June 2: “Get Fungy: Sculpture Spores” opening;
- May 31-June 2: “Ceramics Intervention Project;”
- June 7: “Fluxus Festival: Performance Art by CSUSB Art History Students.”
More events to be announced. For more information on “Public Art in the WRI Garden,” contact art professor Alison Petty Ragguette at (909) 520-1002 or ajpetty@csusb.edu.
Also follow the art project on Instagram: @WRI_PublicArt.
The San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation Demonstration Garden, which is overseen by the Water Resources Institute at CSUSB, is just over an acre of plantings and displays that showcase water conservation through a series of themed gardens and exhibits.
The garden can be a learning laboratory for the dedicated gardener, a place for an afternoon stroll, or a place to gather information about water-wise, or Inland Empire garden friendly plants, while earning a little about the region’s natural history, geography and climate.
The garden was made possible by major gifts from three local donors: the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and the Inland Empire Resource Conservation District.