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Artist-in-Residence David Buckley Borden Collaborates with Sasaki

This summer in the Sasaki Gallery, artist-in-residence David Buckley Borden is exhibiting “Community Nature: People, Place, and Practice.” The exhibit showcases a variety of David’s work, which utilizes art, design, and science communication to draw attention to ecological issues.

Drawing from a background in landscape architecture and ecology, David’s work brings together environmental education with interactive art and design projects. He spent two years at Sasaki before he began further pursuing his interests in art full-time, and soon after began to work with the Harvard Forest, first as a Charles Bullard Fellow in 2016 and now as an Associate Fellow. “To make an impact, environmental communication must be accessible, informative, and engaging,” David writes in his artist statement. “My most successful projects typically employ a combination of community engagement, education, and accessible aesthetics.”

Along with his exhibit in the Sasaki Gallery, which will be on view throughout the summer, David is inviting Sasakians to work with him on a collaborative installation to be located near the office’s back deck. Following an office-wide presentation about his work, David facilitated a charrette in which small groups brainstormed initial ideas for the installation.

With group members spanning disciplines, ideas landed at the intersections of design and ecology. The session concluded with a plan to construct a series of wooden structures topped with bug hotels.

David returned for a second visit with material samples, and he and the team further developed the structures’ designs. The team will meet throughout the summer to continue designing and building the installation, to be finished in August.

Read a conversation between David and Tamar Warburg, Sasaki’s director of sustainability and resilience.

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