STRATHMERE — A community-made climate resilience sphere and abstract mini-spheres have been installed outside the Schiavo Library.
The pieces of art were created when the library and Ocean City Arts Center partnered to raise climate resilience and flood awareness in a pair of workshops in Strathmere.
In the two workshops, adults and children decorated the large and small spheres under the direction of artist Jessica Osborne-Mungekar of Fine Cement Craft.
Some of the mini-spheres kept with the climate theme showing the ocean, sand, animals and beach activities, while others showed abstract art and paintings of personal things that the participants enjoy and love.
“The spheres project was a community effort. We had a lot of young children participating in this project with their parents and grandparents,” Schiavo Library Director Melissa Warren said.
“These young kids are the future and by participating in a community activity like this one, it only ensures us that the future is bright. We hope to preserve the spheres so the participants can look back and know they helped make a difference in the community,” she said. “Not to mention the community enjoyed seeing their artwork come to life and in essence bring nature to life by keeping people aware of their surroundings. The more we educate others about climate resilience, the more it helps the community. It gets those gears going, and soon ideas come forward to help better protect our shore.”
The OCAC secured a grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and state Council on the Arts to operate a community-based program that addresses the theme of climate resilience and coastal flooding through original site-specific art work and was paired with Mungekar, who was a recipient as well. The grant was administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The program is a way to expand the mission of the OCAC by bringing educational art to the Longport and Strathmere libraries through hiring an artist to collaborate with the residents.
Mungekar has been actively making sculptures for nearly five years. She earned a BFA in art at the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon. She later earned a master’s degree in social work from Temple University in Philadelphia.
The main focus of the first workshop was around a large sphere that Mungekar constructed on which participants painted their visions. She then added to it and prepared it for installation.
The sphere represents the ocean, sand and air – the ocean being the bottom layer, the sand being the second and the air being the top layer. Participants ranging in age from 5 to 17 painted turtles, crabs, birds, dunes and people on to the sphere.
The work shows the community coexisting and sharing the shore with the wildlife.
“It takes courage and a level of comfort to openly make art that will be appreciated by others in the community,” Mungekar said. “Their understanding and passion for protecting their communities and the animals they share it with is evidenced by the art created. It has been a pleasure and honor to have been given this opportunity, and I hope to have more like this.”
For more information on the Schiavo Library visit strathmerelibrary.org. To learn more about the artist, go to finecementcraft.com and to learn more about the Ocean City Arts Center, visit oceancityartscenter.org
By CAMRYN SCHULTHEIS/For the Sentinel