(OFF)BALANCE: Art in the Age of Human Impact

(OFF)BALANCE: Art in the Age of Human Impact invites viewers to explore the intricate ways we interact with, interpret, and shape our environment—both internal and external. The exhibition challenges audiences to reflect on themes of transformation, human intervention, and the tension between destruction and conservation. The ensemble of works highlight how human involvement in the environment is both essential and disruptive shaping our Anthropocene era — an era marked by human activities that have significantly impacted the Earth's geology and ecosystems. Many of the featured artists in the exhibition critically engage with the built environment and social landscape they inhabit, and through a range of media including drawing, lithography, painting, photography, and installation, these artists abstract, render, intervene, and respond to a world with which they maintain a reciprocal relationship.  

This exhibition is co-curated by Adeyemi Adebayo, MFA studio arts candidate; Eva Barajas, MA art education candidate; and Bo Kim, MFA studio arts candidate.

Throughout the semester, the graduate students planned and hosted three events related to the exhibition:

1. Opening reception and panel discussion | March 26

During the opening reception for the exhibition, the graduate students moderated a panel with Xuan Pham (Mount Holyoke visiting assistant professor, art studio), Karen Kurczynski (UMass professor, modern and contemporary art), and Evan Garza (MASS MoCA curator. The panel examined how artistic practices, curation, and scholarship intersect with ecological and social challenges. Key topics included art’s role in environmental activism, the ethics of curation, and cross-disciplinary collaboration in addressing sustainability and human impact.

2. Drawing workshop | April 22

In celebration of Earth Day on April 22,  the students held a drawing workshop in the Randolph W. Bromery Center for the Arts lobby. The workshop, “Seeing Slowly, Drawing Deeply: Repositioning Ourselves with the Earth,” was designed to foster reflection, artistic engagement, and environmental awareness, and to explore the intricate relationship between humanity and the natural world.

Rooted in mindfulness, slow looking, and creative expression, the workshop encouraged deep observation of selected artworks, prompting participants to reflect on environmental transformation and personal agency. Through guided drawing exercises, attendees will visually engage with themes of ecological impact, resilience, and interconnectedness.

3. Collective Access: Constructing Ecosystems of Care, Equity, and Education in the Arts | April 25

In a virtual program, participants reflected on educational access, joy, creator labor, and equity in art practice.

Co-facilitated by Carla Gaskins-Nathan (Zelah LLC, NYC) — a wellness consultant, ritualist, and healing artist — the workshop invited participants to explore the roles that we all play in service of our social change values and community.
 

In the press:

Daily Hampshire Gazette: ‘Art in the Age of Human Impact’: New exhibition at UMass explores complex relationship between humans and nature 
“The total impact that humans have had on the environment may be hard to measure, but a new exhibition at the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s University Museum of Contemporary Art, running through Friday, May 9, aims to show some of that impact and create conversations about how artists respond to it with their work.” 
 

About the Eva Fierst Student Curatorial Exhibition:

The University Museum of Contemporary Art’s annual Eva Fierst Student Curatorial Exhibition is the culmination of a year-long independent project, conducted by students from key graduate programs including history of art and architecture, studio arts, Afro-American studies, and art education. The program was initiated by the museum in 2006 and it has been supported by the Eva Fierst Student Curatorial Exhibition Fund since 2021. 

Featuring works pulled primarily from the museum’s permanent collection, the exhibition demonstrates the strength and diversity of more than 3,800 works of art held by UMass. Students apply each spring, and a team of two to three students is selected. Throughout the program, the students have the opportunity to work on all aspects of creating an exhibition. They research objects, devise a thematic framework, write all exhibition texts including a central essay, design the exhibition layout, assist with installation, and produce an opening reception and related public event.  

The University Museum of Contemporary Art is grateful to the Eva Fierst Curatorial Exhibition Fund for supporting this annual museum project.