Environmental Art at the Schuylkill Center

Environmental Art at the Schuylkill Center The Environmental Art Department challenges established and emerging artists to reflect on environme

“connecting with the atmosphere of the forest helps me... move in a space outside linear time”-Tamar Gutherz “Just as t...
06/10/2025

“connecting with the atmosphere of the forest helps me... move in a space outside linear time”
-Tamar Gutherz

“Just as the trees and ground are with us, so are we with each other... even though I am traversing different characters, they in the end are always sourced from the same body”
-Chloe Marie

TERRA: Bodies & Territories is a work of experimental dance theater choreographed by Silvana Cardell , performed in the forest at the Schuylkill Center, with a multi-generational ensemble of dancers.

Click the link in our bio to purchase tickets for the performances on June 13, 14, 15 and 20, 21, 22.

Major support for TERRA has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage (), with additional support from Georgian Court University, and the 2025 Creative Sector Flex Fund, a program by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

Photos by and Michelle Smith

“the forest is not a blank slate, but a living, dynamic environment filled with layers of sound: biological, geological,...
06/09/2025

“the forest is not a blank slate, but a living, dynamic environment filled with layers of sound: biological, geological, and human-made...
My process involves layering field recordings to create percussive propulsion and rhythmic, melodic loops.”
-Devin Arne

TERRA: Bodies & Territories is a work of experimental dance theater choreographed by Silvana Cardell, performed in the forest at the Schuylkill Center, with a multi-generational ensemble of dancers.

Click the link in our bio to purchase tickets for the performances on June 13, 14, 15 and 20, 21, 22.

Major support for TERRA has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage (), with additional support from Georgian Court University, and the 2025 Creative Sector Flex Fund, a program by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

Photos by

“there is always a dialogue going with the site, the materials, the weather, and that shapes what you are able to do... ...
06/06/2025

“there is always a dialogue going with the site, the materials, the weather, and that shapes what you are able to do...
I want the audience to feel like they have walked into some ritual of matriarchal life
in progress.”
-Sarah Kavage

TERRA: Bodies & Territories is a work of experimental dance theater choreographed by Silvana Cardell, performed in the forest at the Schuylkill Center, with a multi-generational ensemble of dancers.

Click the link in our bio to purchase tickets for the performances on June 13, 14, 15 and 20, 21, 22.

Major support for TERRA has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage (), with additional support from Georgian Court University, and the 2025 Creative Sector Flex Fund, a program by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

Photos by

“There is a long, painful history of domination woven through the soil and carried in our bodies. The forest, like the b...
06/05/2025

“There is a long, painful history of domination woven through the soil and carried in our bodies. The forest, like the body, remembers...
And yet—it resists. It regenerates. It insists on life. In TERRA, we listen to that quiet resistance. We embody it.”
-Silvana Cardell

TERRA: Bodies & Territories is a work of experimental dance theater choreographed by Silvana Cardell, performed in the forest at the Schuylkill Center, with a multi-generational ensemble of dancers.

Click the link in our bio to purchase tickets for the performances on June 13, 14, 15 and 20, 21, 22.

Major support for TERRA has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage (), with additional support from Georgian Court University, and the 2025 Creative Sector Flex Fund, a program by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

Photos by

Rebecca Rutstein: (In)Visible Structures is on view through May 31. Rutstein creates mesmerizing compositions inspired b...
05/27/2025

Rebecca Rutstein: (In)Visible Structures is on view through May 31. Rutstein creates mesmerizing compositions inspired by the phenomenal structures and processes that mediate our complex ecosystem. This exhibition brings together paintings from Rutstein’s oceanographic research series along with recent paintings that mark the beginning of new research-based projects. A beautiful illustrated catalog is available. (In)Visible Structures is curated by Heather Moqtaderi.
The gallery is open during regular Visitor Center Hours, Monday through Saturday 9am-5pm at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education.


Photos by George Manos.

As the wildfires continue to rage, devastating precious communities, ecosystems, and infrastructure in Los Angeles, we a...
01/14/2025

As the wildfires continue to rage, devastating precious communities, ecosystems, and infrastructure in Los Angeles, we are reflecting on our exhibition Fire Season, which closes this week on Friday, January 17th, and more generally on the role of art in crisis. Our artists in the show, Narendra Haynes and Ye Qin Zhu .zhu_ contend with the very real and prescient reality of the destructive magnification of fire on Earth. Through their connective thinking, they offer us pathways for shifting public consciousness and gleaning the wisdom necessary to survive environmental catastrophe and failing systems.

Before the show closes, we wanted to highlight Ye Qin Zhu’s piece, Sight, Taste, Appetite, a large-scale mixed media assemblage, centering a human skeletal form in the process of digestion at once emerging from and being swallowed by billows of fire.

Ye Qin Zhu, Sight, Taste, Appetite, 2022
Mixed media on panel

The format of this mixed media work is inspired by mythological relief carvings of Hindu and Buddhist temples. Zhu’s sculptural mythology integrates carved imagery of flames with embedded artifacts and detritus from today’s manmade and natural world. The central figure blends skeleton and flesh, crowned in gold as in a saintly icon, gazing back at the viewer. The figure’s tongue references taste, which the artist conflates beyond the sensory to the subjective personal tastes, such as literature and media. The flames that consume the scene reflect the broader concept of consumption and the natural cycle of the human body which is ultimately consumed into the environment.

You can visit the Schuylkill Center to see Fire Season from October 12th, 2024 – January 17th, 2025, on Monday – Saturday, between 9-5pm.

(Photos / for the Schuylkill Center of Environmental Education)

Thanks to all who came out to our Winter Art Market on Saturday! We were overwhelmed by how many incredible artists and ...
12/11/2024

Thanks to all who came out to our Winter Art Market on Saturday! We were overwhelmed by how many incredible artists and craftspeople were under our roof. If you did not make it out to the market, please check out their profiles below to see when they’ll be selling their wares next. We can’t wait to make this an annual event.

🎁🎁🎁

Don’t miss our Artist Market this Saturday from 11am-4pm at the Schuylkill Center! The first 30 attendees will receive a...
12/06/2024

Don’t miss our Artist Market this Saturday from 11am-4pm at the Schuylkill Center! The first 30 attendees will receive a free surprise bag. Dozens of local artists and artisans will be set up indoors, and visitors can hike the trails and sip hot cocoa.

At 2pm there will be an artist talk by Narendra Haynes who will speak about his work in our current gallery exhibition, Fire Season, which visitors can also check out. This event is free admission.

Take a look at our incredible vendors!
Libby Saylor
Jess Polk Studio LLC
Darrian Smith
Delcorno ceramics
C Aguilera .seagu
Katie Tackman
Kariebi Andrews Studios LLC
Chimaera Gallery
Astral Projects
Sky Templeton
Fable Made
Aubrey Nagle
Livetodream
Chappell Photography
Wooden Hughman
Alexandra Langendorfer

On December 7, we’re hosting an Artist Talk with Narendra Haynes , one of the artists featured in our current gallery e...
11/26/2024

On December 7, we’re hosting an Artist Talk with Narendra Haynes , one of the artists featured in our current gallery exhibition 🔥Fire Season🔥

Narendra will discuss the genesis of 🔥Fire Season🔥 as it grew from his ecological art practice and immersion within the forests at the Schuylkill Center. Join him for this exploration of the moment where death kindles rebirth, the forest burns before it regenerates, and the human story of progress is swallowed by these greater natural cycles. This is a slide presentation with seating in a space adjacent to the gallery in the Visitor Center. This event is free to attend. Register for any event updates. Walk-ins welcome.

🔥🐦‍🔥🌲🐦‍🔥🔥

The talk coincides with our Winter Artist Market which takes place in the auditorium from 11am – 4pm and is the perfect opportunity to find your special holiday gifts!

About Narendra Haynes:
Narendra Haynes earned his MFA from The University of Pennsylvania in 2021 where he was awarded the Steward Egnal Scholarship, Halpern-Rogath Travel Grant, and a Graduate Lecturer Position at The Institute of Contemporary Art. His work has been exhibited for the Poetry Project in New York City, as well as at Esther Klein Gallery, Icebox Project Space, and the Asian Arts Initiative in Philadelphia. In 2022 he was an Artist in Residence at RAIR, Philadelphia, where he ran workshops investigating waste, nature attunement, and ecological practices.

Starting our 🔥Fire Season🔥 artwork highlights off with 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘽𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙨, 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄𝙨 𝘼𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚. This piece takes over the larg...
11/07/2024

Starting our 🔥Fire Season🔥 artwork highlights off with 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘽𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙨, 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄𝙨 𝘼𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚. This piece takes over the largest wall in the gallery with a sculptural assemblage of biomorphic shapes along with living moss and ferns. We encourage you to take your time with both of Narendra’s large-scale wall sculptures because you’ll notice more and more nuances the more you look, and you’ll start seeing different forms.

𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮 𝗛𝗮𝘆𝗻𝗲𝘀, 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘽𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙨, 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄𝙨 𝘼𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰
partially burned laminated wood shelves, burned PVC panels, ferns, moss, metal brackets

In this mixed media wall sculpture, Narendra Haynes transforms remnants of faux wood shelving into a living, shape-shifting environment. The artist cut each biomorphic shape from common laminate shelving that imitates various species of real wood. Harnessing both the destructive and creative power of fire, he selectively scorched the panels to create surfaces that resemble organic growth patterns. Contrasting the cloud-like sculptural shapes, areas of blackened structures are exposed, resembling partially buried ruins. The crackled surface of these labyrinthine forms comes from scorching the surfaces of polyvinyl chloride, the environmentally toxic material ubiquitously found in building materials. Living ferns and moss emerge from the installation, reaching toward the light and reminding us that nature persists despite human efforts to control its wild vitality.

🔥🐦‍🔥🌲🐦‍🔥🔥

The art gallery is open Monday – Saturday, 9-5pm. Fire Season will be up from October 12th, 2024 – January 17th, 2025.

(Photos / for the Schuylkill Center of Environmental Education)

A round of applause for the remarkable, thoughtful performers of Pining Away: Eco-readings Outdoors, who brought us out ...
10/17/2024

A round of applause for the remarkable, thoughtful performers of Pining Away: Eco-readings Outdoors, who brought us out of the gallery and into the woods last Saturday, first to the amphitheater and then down to Jubilee Grove, and asked us to get up close and personal with the land through lichen, laughter, and deep listening.

This program accompanied the opening of our fall exhibition Fire Season and we can’t wait to do more outdoor performances like this one in the future!

Slides 1-2: Alex Tartarsky .biz playing with the notion of a performance host as well as an ecological host.
Slides 3-5: Developed by Jonathan González and performed by Marguerite Angelica Monique Hemmings , this piece had us on a journey through time and land-based memory.
Slides 6-9: David Guzman helping us to befriend the lichen covering our amphitheater stones.

(Photos / for the Schuylkill Center of Environmental Education)

Thanks to all who came out for the opening of Fire Season and the accompanying outdoor performance program to honor arbo...
10/17/2024

Thanks to all who came out for the opening of Fire Season and the accompanying outdoor performance program to honor arboreal cycles of devastation and regeneration fueled by fire!

Fire Season features artworks by Narendra Haynes and Ye Qin Zhu .zhu complete with living moss, ferns, and a skeletal form!

You can visit the work in person in our gallery from 9am - 5pm, Monday through Saturday, until the show closes on January 17th.

(Photos / for the Schuylkill Center of Environmental Education)

Address

8480 Hagys Mill Road
Philadelphia, PA
19128

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+12154827300

Website

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