LOVE IT. PROTECT IT. MV. with Vineyard Conservation Society | June 7 - 27

​In response to last year’s events, Vineyard Conservation Society launched a social media based community art project titled “love it. protect it. mv.” The goal was to provide an opportunity to recognize the importance of nature, and express our feelings of gratitude for and connection to those spaces where nature takes center stage.

VCS and Featherstone Center for the Arts have now partnered to host a curated in-person show of selected works from this project. love it. protect it. mv. is an art exhibit celebrating nature, open space, and our sense of place as an island.

We hope to see you at one or more of four special events occurring during the show's run. All events will take place outside the Art Barn (weather permitting, otherwise inside gallery). All events are free but please register in advance by calling 508-693-1850 or email featherstone@featherstoneart.org.

June 9th at 4:00PM: Poetry reading featuring selections from "love it. protect it. mv"
Jeffrey Agnoli
Eleanor Bates
Christine G Burke
Liz Dengenis
Don McLagan
Adam Moore
Georgia Morris
Susan Puciul
Ellen Story
Rose Styron
Spencer Thurlow
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June 13th at 3:30PM:  "The Art of Conservation" high school awards

June 16th at 4:00PM: A panel discussion on nature, advocacy, and art with VCS Executive Director Brendan O'Neill, FCA Executive Director Ann Smith, journalist and author Geraldine Brooks, and artist Cindy Kane

June 23rd at 5:00PM: VCS Annual Meeting featuring guest speaker Emily Molden, Executive Director of the Nantucket Land Council

We are pleased to announce a partnership with Vineyard Conservation Society to produce a curated in-person show celebrating the Vineyard's protected open space. 

In response to last year’s events, VCS launched a social media based, community art project, called “love it. protect it. mv.” This was created as an opportunity to recognize the importance of nature and as a space to feel gratitude and connection, at a time when there was a significant need for both. 

As the culmination of the “love it. protect it. mv.” project, and in an effort to create a collective portrait of the open space that makes the island so special, VCS and Featherstone are requesting artwork and writing for a curated in person show. Instead of a traditional call for art we are asking artists to submit to the VCS digital project (instructions and prompts below). From this collection of digital submission, VCS and Featherstone will select pieces most representative of the theme, to hang in the Francine Kelly Gallery June 7 - June 27.   

All digital submissions need to be emailed to slook@vineyardconservation.org no later than May 22, 2021. 

Artists will be notified of their inclusion in the Francine Kelly Gallery exhibit at Featherstone by May 25, 2021.

We hope you will consider adding your voice and vision to the project, further details below!

love it. protect it. mv.
     A community art project to celebrate open space

In celebration of nature, open spaces, and our sense of place as an island, please join Vineyard Conservation Society and Featherstone Center for the Arts in honoring our beautiful island. This past year has proven the incredible importance of our open space in nourishing both nature and the human spirit. We invite you to honor our extraordinary home through the visual arts, written thoughts, and any other form of expression. In these challenging times, we can all benefit from a greater sense of connection with nature. 

The Vineyard is blessed with a diversity of places in which to find solace and inspiration. The following prompts are offered as basis for your entry: 

"Forests"
As spring arrives on the Vineyard our forests are coming to life. Filled with small, sometimes unnoticed details, as well as the grandeur and mystery of trees, forests can be both intimate and expansive. Please consider adding your perspective to this project by sharing your artwork or writing that describes your connection with the Island’s forests.

"Meadows, Fields & Farms"
From picturesque farm fields that sustain our local food economy, to the native grasslands that support the Island's unique biodiversity, meadows and fields and some of the most iconic spaces on Martha's Vineyard. 

"Shorelines"
The shoreline of Martha’s Vineyard looks very different from those of other popular destinations on the east coast. Instead of miles-long strips of houses and hotels, built upon pilings in the dunes and wetlands, our beaches remain unspoiled. The human footprint is lighter here, better able to share space with nature. Click here to learn more about VCS's work and the history of shoreline protection efforts on Martha's Vineyard.

To participate:

• Consider the open spaces and conservation land on the Island, along with the themes Forests, Meadows, Fields & Farms and Shorelines and respond in the artistic medium of your choice. This may mean the creation of something new, or using something you already have on hand that fits the theme.
• Provide us with a photo or scan of your artwork and the rights to share it in print and social media. 
• Email your reflections to Samantha (slook@vineyardconservation.org). If you are on social media and want to post it to your own page make sure to tag @vineyardconservation and @featherstonecenterforthearts and use hashtag #LoveItProtectItMV
• Please include a short paragraph explaining the inspiration behind your image, and your social media tags if applicable.
• We will be using the collected works to share over social media our website and in our online newsletter. 
• An exhibit of selected works will be on display at Featherstone Center for the Arts from June 7 - June 27, 2021. 

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Artist Submission Form (for gallery show)
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