Building community involvement


The DEHSART team participated in bringing together creativity and environmental education to transform illegally dumped waste into art while working with the Lancaster Museum of Art and History (MOAH) and the Eastside High School Art Department’s collaborative project: “Wasteland: Turning Illegally Dumped Waste into Art.”

Inspired by the 2010 documentary film “WASTE LAND” which  follows contemporary artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil visiting the world’s largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho. He photographs “catadores”—self-designated pickers of recyclable materials–as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage revealing the dignity and despair of the catadores as they begin to re-imagine their lives.

Shoe FlowerThe students at Eastside were creating works of recycled art based on a flower theme, and are continuing to crafting a documentary film about the project. We were able to engage with students about their  experiences of exploring dump sites, share our knowledge of sculpture and artistic techniques, and got hands-on working with materials as they built their flowers.

Thank you to the talented students, Eastside High School, and MOAH for the opportunity to work together in encouraging the transformative power of art.