Art Encounters: Rethinking My Relationship to the Land

“By addressing these issues in a setting where we engage in constructive dialogue, free to question assumptions and think across disciplinary boundaries, we open a path forward to creative solutions. This is the essence of the liberal arts.” 

-Lee Lines, Ph.D., Professor of Environmental Studies 

This exhibition draws upon the knowledge and perspectives of Rollins College faculty to highlight the value of a liberal arts education for addressing human-driven climate change. Quotes from faculty representing various disciplines are integrated with works from the collection to encourage dialogue and facilitate a deeper understanding of how they reflect our relationship to the environment. As Professor of Political Science Dr. Michael Gunter Jr. notes, “It’s so easy to become frustrated with a problem as big as climate change, to think I’m just one person, what can I do?” This presentation of Art Encounters is specifically designed for introducing first-year Rollins students to the core principles of a liberal arts education and how these principles may be applied to global challenges like climate change. How does a liberal arts education prepare students to consider their ethical responsibility to the environment? What are the affordances of the visual arts for shaping our understanding of climate change? 

Art Encounters also includes an exhibition-specific audio guide featuring entries from the faculty, allowing visitors to hear directly from the educators shaping the next generation of environmentally conscious citizens.  

Faculty Contributors:

Michael Gunter Jr., Ph.D., Professor of Political Science

Fiona Harper, Ph.D., Professor of Biology

Lee Lines, Ph.D., Professor of Environmental Studies

Walter Mswaka, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Social Entrepreneurship

Dawn Roe, M.F.A., Professor of Art

Image: Kay WalkingStick, (Native American, b. 1935), Long Valley Caldera, 2013, Oil on panel, 40 x 80 x 2 in., The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art, Rollins Museum of Art, Gift of Barbara ’68 and Theodore ’68 Alfond, 2022.2.2. Image courtesy of the artist and Hales, London and New York. Photo by JSP Art Photography