A new exhibition in FGCU’s Library Archives, “Undercurrent: Florida Artists & Water,” explores our complex relationship with that natural resource. On display Jan. 14-April 26 in Room 322 on the library’s third floor, the exhibit features local artists including Charlie Brown, Mary Sullivan Voytek, Amber Frank, Jeff and Dale Ocasio, Andy Owen and Ran Adler. A reception for the exhibition will be held 5:30-7:30 p.m. Jan. 24. Regular viewing hours for the public are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays.
The variety of media, textures and materials present in the exhibition mirrors the eclectic nature of Florida’s landscape and wildlife — as well as its human inhabitants — at a time when local water ecosystems have suffered the devastating effects of blue-green algae and a persistent red tide bloom. High concentrations of red tide (Karenia brevis) can be toxic to fish, marine mammals and birds.
The FGCU Library staff thanks the contributing artists of “Undercurrent” for helping to raise awareness of Florida water ecosystems and the current environmental threats in the region.
In related news, the library announced the recent acquisition of the Erwin Environmental Ecology Collection. Kevin Erwin, an internationally known ecosystem ecologist, pioneered wetland restoration and watershed management evaluation more than 40 years ago. He has consulted on local projects such as the design and permitting of FGCU’s campus and work related to the Florida panther and Everglades Headwaters and Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuges. Erwin’s papers will serve as the foundation of the Erwin Environmental Ecology Collection, a research resource in the library’s Archives and Special Collections.
