Denison University's Environmental Studies Program is hosting a week-long workshop on "The Documentary Art: Imaging and Imagining the Environment" from May 13 to 18 that is open to students, faculty, and staff at Ohio and Great Lakes Colleges Association liberal arts institutions as well as to local residents.

Kenyon College Professor of Art Gregory Spaid, a nationally recognized photographer and artist, will lead the "experiential, hands-on workshop to create artful documentary projects that address environmental issues" in Licking County. Sponsored by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the program is available free but is limited to 40 selected applicants. On-campus accommodations are available for college student participants.

The workshop's goal is to develop and refine participants' skills in documentary work and to increase understanding of environmental issues in the local community, according to Spaid. Participants will be utilizing a variety of media, including photography, writing, sound-recording, digital imaging, drawing, and watercolor. In addition to discussions of their work, participants will also have the opportunity to interact with writer Scott Sanders. Sanders is Distinguished Professor of English at Indiana University where he directs the Wells Scholars Program.

Spaid, currently acting provost at Kenyon, has three books of photographs: "Grace: Photographs of Rural America" (Safe Harbor Books, 2000), "The Man Who Created Paradise" with writer Gene Logsdon (Ohio University Press, 2001), and "On Nantucket" (Safe Harbor Books, due April 2002).

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

Position Title

Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

Business Phone

(740) 587-8575