UMBC's Fine Arts Gallery presents "An Idea Takes Root/Get Your Stone in Motion," a symposium on the Joseph Beuys Tree Partnership and greening initiatives in Baltimore. The free, day-long conference will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 4 (schedule below) at the Baltimore Museum of Art Auditorium. For more information call (410) 455-3188.

UMBC has partnered with 21 Baltimore organizations to produce the Joseph Beuys Tree Partnership, a far-reaching visionary program inspired by artist Joseph Beuys' 7000 Oaks project, where 7000 trees were planted in Kassel, Germany from 1982 to 1987. Funded by the TKF Foundation (www.tkffdn.org) in Annapolis, Maryland, the tree plantings, which began last fall, took place at Carroll Park, Patterson Park, Wyman Park Dell and UMBC. Over 500 people of all ages and backgrounds have participated in the events.

Originally conceived as part of the well-known international art exhibition, "Documenta 7," Beuys' work on the 7000 Oaks project led him to coin the term social sculpture, which describes the process of communication and collaboration between artists and citizens to create environmental artworks beneficial to the community. Beuys felt that these community-based art structures or projects might change the way people relate to the world in which they live and work. The project provided Beuys the opportunity to express his social concerns to improve the ecosystem, to develop positive economic and political voices in urban settings and to improve human life in general.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

JOSEPH BEUYS IN AMERICA: 9 AM - 12 NOON

Welcome

Helen Molesworth, Curator of Contemporary Art, BMA

David Yager, Director, UMBC Fine Arts Gallery

Discussion moderated by George Ciscle, Curator-in-Residence, Maryland Institute, College of Art

David Levi Strauss, Freelance Writer and Critic, New York

Ronald Feldman, Director, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York

Todd Bockley, Independent Curator, Center for Social Sculpture, Minneapolis

GREENING INITIATIVES AND THE ARTS IN BALTIMORE: 1 - 4 PM

Marvin Billups, Jr., Director, Department of Recreation and Parks, Baltimore City

Michael Beer, Co-founder and Co-director, Jones Falls Watershed Association

Panel Discussion

Cinder Hypki, Friends of Patterson Park, Baltimore City

Beth Strommen, Environmental Planner, Baltimore City

Michael Beer, Co-founder and Co-director, Jones Falls Watershed Association

Bryant Smith, Urban Arts Institute, Baltimore City

Fran Spero, Department of Recreation and Parks, Baltimore City

Gary Letteron, Washington Village Pigtown Neighborhood Planning Council

Amanda Cunningham, Parks and People, Baltimore City# # #