Rebecca Schultz, a Cheltenham-based artist, examines relationships between humans and the ecosystems we inhabit through community-based projects, writes Emily Kovach for the Grid.
Schultz completed Mapping Our Watershed, a years-long art project, in 2023 by stitching together a variety of media, including tree bark rubbings, monotypes, and watercolors made from soil and water, to create a map of Cheltenham and the Tacony watershed. Over 60 people contributed 90 art pieces, forming the textural, layered collage Schultz dubbed a “participatory art and community science project.”
The project began with all-ages outdoor workshops held in cooperation with the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership, the Cheltenham Center for the Arts, and Friends of High School Park. Participants gathered at local streams to learn about subjects related to watersheds, such as riparian buffers and soil health. They then created art using natural materials.
The final artwork, displayed at the Elkins Park SEPTA station and Fairmount Water Works, beautifully reflects Schultz’s art-making philosophy and creative process.
“I explore what keeps ecosystems healthy and why they’re essential to our survival,” she said. “I believe that this idea that we’ve become disconnected from the rest of the living world is at the heart of the [climate] crisis we’re facing.”
Read more about Rebecca Schultz in the Grid.
