Calling for Videos: UT Community Earth Day 50 Projects

AUSTIN, Texas—Texas Applied Arts, a unit within UT’s College of Fine Arts, is seeking your assistance and engagement to complete their UT Community Earth Day 50 projects.

By collecting the voices and vision of the UT community as a virtual celebration of Earth Day at 50, their goal is to amplify the intentions and collective sustainability within the UT community, to create a space to gather with one another during this time of isolation, and to bear witness to this essential historic date in our nation’s history.

The Texas Applied Arts team requests that you create two video selfies ASAP, answering the questions below, and submit them for compilation as a virtual way to witness Earth Day 2020.

The team hopes to premiere their projects next Wednesday on April 22, 2020.

UT Community Earth Day 50 – Video Selfie Project Challenge

April 22, 2020, marks the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. We hope you will join us by taking the time to record a one minute video in consideration of this historic day. The Green Fund Grant supported Waller Creek Earth Day project is gathering stories and testimonies from our UT community to highlight the diversity of research and work being done to enact sustainable ways of living. Our intention is to create a short film to raise awareness of our UT Austin community views around this important subject. We will share the videos with the public on our social media account, @utappliedarts on Instagram. After you record your video please share the file with us in this Dropbox folder where we are gathering all of the content. We are happy to answer any questions you might have about the process.

Questions to consider:

What are your main environmental concerns?
How do you connect with nature?
What are you doing to help sustain the earth and our ecosystems?
For whom do you do this work?

UT Community Earth Day 50 – Video Selfie Project Challenge – Dropbox. Please upload files here: https://www.dropbox.com/request/mS8tZ6bJWvIp00K5dQLm

UT Earth Day 50 PROMISE – Soundscape

Please join the Green Fund Grant Supported Texas Applied Arts Waller Creek Earth Day/Creek Monster Habitat Class in the creation of an Earth Day 50 Promise – Soundscape. This soundscape will premiere on April 22, 2020, the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. 50 years ago, on this historic day, people took to the streets by the thousands to fight for a cleaner and more sustainable world. On April 22, 2020, the people of UT and Austin will gather again by voice in this time of separation, under the clearest skies we have seen in generations, to share our promises for the future. What will we learn by slowing down? Waller Creek is calling, what will you promise? The Earth is calling, what will you promise? Future generations are calling, what will you promise?

To participate, please follow these directions below and call this number 512-850-5147

Keep microphone at a moderate distance away from you (approx. 6 inches). Speak slightly to either side of the microphone’s input (adjust yourself so that when you look straight forward, your mouth is pointed just slightly to the left or right of the microphone. Doing so prevents what is referred to as “pops” from being captured. Speak clearly, concisely, and at an adequate volume – annunciate properly, try not to murmur, and avoid letting your voice trail off as you finish a sentence.

Pledge Format: promises do not necessarily have to be for now/the near future; you can make promises to go out and be proactive once it is safe to do so.

Answer this Question: “What will you pledge to do in order to help the environment?”

Begin with “I promise”, followed by your pledge. It can be lighthearted, serious, or anything in between.

Do 2-3 repeated takes of your pledge, leaving a few seconds of silence between each. It may be helpful to write your promise down in advance.

Answer this Question: “What will you do with your community/those around you to help the environment?”
Begin with “We promise”, followed by your pledge. Your community can be family, friends, neighbors, etc. Try to make this pledge unique to group/collaborative efforts (group cleanups, practicing mindfulness together, etc.).