Earth Day Every Day

What do you get when you bring an architect, nature enthusiast and artist together who celebrate a global connection? Answer – - A unique proposition that blends the abstract with artistic genius and combines it with the opportunity to give back to the Earth, help our children in need and live a sustainable life.  Introducing the partnership between OPeX Studios, Dhana EcoKids and James Viola and the creation behind the “Make Every Day An Earth Day” project.

A few months ago, Mark Reeves, founder of OPeX Studios and I met virtually and started exploring synergies that connected us in the realm of kid centric activities. We both realized our mutual interest which was to support and empower kids in this world.

As Mark recalls, “The idea of an Earth Day partnership between Dhana EcoKids and OPeX studios came up during our first talk.  Shamini immediately understood the Square Inches of Love project, how the weaving of 1000’s of virtual contributions from around the world into a physical exhibition space would provide an opportunity for us all to explore the influence of the digital revolution and of increased interactions with virtual spaces on the concept of ‘space.’  The rich diversity of content – sizes, types, geographic locations, etc. will portray the diversity we have in the world and how we are all interconnected – interconnected more than ever in history with boundaries being blurred.  At OPeX studios, we believe that harnessing the powerful capabilities of this era, creatively and responsibly, can achieve greater social, environmental, and economic sustainability for the future of our children. Shamini generously suggested a partnership for Earth Day with Dhana EcoKids which would help publicize and raise funds for Square Inches of Love.

Proceeds received by Square Inches of Love equate to one square inches of exhibition space per dollar – 50% of which goes toward the expenses of building and touring the resulting exhibition and 50% of which is donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The resulting exhibition will tell many stories through the images collected. For this partnership, we decided an Earth Day image should fill the resulting space as a record of the 2012 Earth Day and to serve as a reminder to all who experience the exhibition of our responsibilities to our-  home planet Earth.  OPeX studios then reached out to James Viola, another Square Inches of Love participant and the artist behind the Earth Day image and the creator of the slogan “Make Every Day An Earth Day to be part of this collaboration.”

As we dwell for a moment on the captivating poster of James Viola, one is drawn by the abstraction and symbolism of this art piece.  We asked James his inspiration behind this creation and these are his words:

“When I set off to create the image I knew I wanted to create a scene that was romantic (in the traditional sense of the word), intriguing, and somewhat narrative as well. I did some reflection on Earth Day’s current theme and decided to steer clear of their current “mobilization campaign.”  Something about it didn’t speak to me. I sat down and did some image searches trying to find incredibly high resolution photographs that I could piece together to create a kind of ideal landscape. I had this vision of an untouched landscape in my head.  I knew what I wanted almost immediately and spent about 12 hours executing the final piece. There’s a subtle nuance of humanity at the bottom of the poster that I thought enhanced the romanticism.  Are they explorers?  Conquerors? How will they react to the lush land to the North if they discover it? I was trying to create something bold that would immediately grab people’s attention and then draw them in with the small details I essentially sought to create something engaging, unique and familiar.”

For now, Mark, James and I, wait, watch and wonder whether our vision for a symbiotic relationship between the arts, virtual world and the act of giving will find a place in the deepest of human emotions as our worlds converge.  We hope you visit our platforms and invite you to explore the infinite possibilities of making a difference on Earth Day Every Day.