Walk in the Wissahickon: Celebrating and Cherishing Our Local Treasure

 

Walk in the Wissahickon is an immersive installation that celebrates the history and wildness of Wissahickon Valley Park, a vast 2,000-acre watershed park located in Northwest Philadelphia. Its forest, geology, and creek create an abundant habitat for many species of flora and fauna.

 

This installation was created by a diverse group of artists, 6 to 21 years old, under the direction of Mindy Flexer, at Woodmere Art Museum, Mindy Flexer Art School, H.A. Brown Elementary School, Harmony Hometeam After-School Program, and Germantown Friends School’s Summer Camps. Their work reflects on the relationship between people and nature and encourages us to act as responsible stewards of our natural treasures.

 

The young artists in Walk in the Wissahickon used their creativity to learn, to inspire each other, and to create an ecosystem none of us could have envisioned before we all started. They went beyond themselves by truly being themselves, together. May the collaboration that happens in the studio be a template for our actions in caring for our precious planet and its wild places, both near and far.

 

Mindy Flexer is a professional artist and teaching artist, and a climate activist. She paints large-scale magical realist oil paintings, teaches art, and hosts activist art builds at her studio, the home of Mindy Flexer Art School. She loves sharing her passion for art with people of all ages and walks of life, and believes in the power of art to transform people, communities, and the world. You can find her at @mindyflexer and www.mindyflexerart.com.