Athens, Ga. -The Cultural Landscapes Laboratory in the University of Georgia College of Environment and Design will present CounterSPACE: Imagining Possibilities for Civic Agriculture in the Circle Gallery (located in Caldwell Hall) through Nov. 19.The exhibit is free and open to the public.
The exhibit features more than thirty panels of projects exploring the geography of food in Athens such as local market gardens, bike carts designed to deliver fresh produce, “guerilla” gardening tactics, and foodsheds. The exhibit also includes a portrait of heirloom apples once common in North Georgia.
During the past year, CounterSPACE projects were incorporated into service-learning courses involving graduate students in geography, environmental planning and design, landscape architecture and historic preservation. Students continued their efforts to identify ways to incorporate non-industrial food systems in the Athens area throughout this past summer.
The purpose of the CounterSPACE collaboration is to generate new possibilities for civic agriculture in Athens; that is, to find ways to produce and market healthy foods in sustainable ways. CounterSPACE is any space-farm, garden, market, kitchen, tabletop, restaurant-that weans the community from dependence on a global industrial food system.
CounterSPACE was conceived last year by Amy Trauger in the UGA department of geography and Eric MacDonald in the UGA College of Environment and Design.
“We envision a future landscape and food culture that is sustainable, accessible, collaborative, and delicious, and that makes a concerted effort to reach out to the community at large,” said MacDonald.
For more information, see http://www.localplace.org .
