USU Hosts Cross-Disciplinary Panel 'Facing Fire: Aesthetics, Environment & Policy in the West'

A fire policy expert, an ecologist, a hotshot wildland firefighter and two artists will join audiences for the panel “Facing Fire: Aesthetics, Environment & Policy in the West” at Utah State University on Saturday.

The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art has partnered with the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air and Utah Public Radio to host the panel, which will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, in the Wanlass/Russell Performance Hall.

The panel will be moderated by Brian Steed, director of the Institute for Land, Water, and Air. A reception in the museum will follow. The event is free and open to all. It will also be streamed live on UPR.org.

This cross-disciplinary panel will explore how we experience, perceive, respond and research fire in the West.

“When we can bring people together who have such different vantage points and experiences about a topic like ‘fire in the West,’ we can expand our perception and thinking,” Museum director Katie Lee-Koven states. “You can expect to hear from the creators behind the paintings and photographs, firsthand accounts of wildfire firefighters, research from both an ecologist and a forestry manager.”

The panelists are:

• Jamie Phillip Barnes, director of Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands.
• Noah Berger, wildfire photographer in Facing Fire.
• Samantha Fields, painter in Facing Fire.
• Eric LaMalfa, ecologist.
• Wade Snyder, deputy state fire management officer and former Alta Hotshot.

The exhibition, “Facing Fire: Art, Wildlife and the End of Nature in the New West,” is on view July 8 through Dec. 16 and features photographs, paintings, ceramics and video by 12 artists who face fire in the West, sift its aftermath and struggle with the implications.

Collectively, their work tells a comprehensive story of fire, asking viewers to consider the impact of humanity on the environment and what the future holds for a land increasingly at the mercy of nature.

About Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art

The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art at Utah State University fosters engagement with modern and contemporary art to facilitate learning and promote dialogue about ideas important to the people of Utah and the mission of Utah State University.

Admission is free and open to all. Parking is available in the free museum parking stalls and at the Gateway Terrace. For more information, go to NEHMA's website at artmuseum.usu.edu or contact Shaylee Briones, shaylee.briones@usu.edu, 435-797-0227.