Corcoran to Feature Exhibition Addressing Illegal Public Dumping in West Oakland, California

Arts Collaborative Fictilis to Showcase ‘Wildcat Hauling’ Project, Looking at Issues of Economic and Environmental Justice, Public Health and Income Inequality at GW’s Corcoran School of the Arts and Design

January 28, 2016

Wildcat Hauling/Fictilis
MEDIA CONTACTS: 
Kurie Fitzgerald: [email protected], 202-994-6461 
Emily Grebenstein: [email protected], 202-994-3087
 
EVENT: 
Imagine your front yard or neighborhood covered with illegally dumped waste, including car tires, broken appliances and clothing. To many residents of West Oakland, California, finding mounds of trash similar to a waste transfer station or city dump in their front yards is a daily occurrence. The “Wildcat Hauling: Working with Waste in Public Space” exhibition is part of an ongoing project created by Fictilis, a West Oakland-based collaborative focusing on art, design and social justice. Led by Andrea Steves and Timothy Furstnau, Fictilis has a particular focus on waste, guided by the belief that all material is, from its beginnings, potential waste. Through innovative projects the exhibition attempts to expose and/or bridge the gap between social and environmental activism. In 2012, Fictilis began documenting West Oakland’s illegal dumping problem. This is the first time the Wildcat Hauling project will be shown as an independent project.
 
With the “Wildcat Hauling” project, Fictilis recruits local junk haulers and volunteers to join them in efforts to clean up West Oakland. The exhibition features documentary photographs and bales of recycled material. The photographs expose an ever-growing waste epidemic in low-income urban areas. “Wildcat Hauling” examines the issue of illegal dumping in West Oakland with a wide lens, addressing social and environmental concerns across the nation.
 
WHEN: 
Opening Reception: Feb. 5; 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. 
Feb. 5, 2016-March 20, 2016 
 
WHERE: 
The George Washington University 
Corcoran School of the Arts and Design
West Atrium 
500 17th St., NW
Washington, D.C. 
Farragut North Metro (Red line); McPherson Square Metro (Blue, Orange and Silver lines)
 
ADMISSION AND PUBLIC INFORMATION:
The atrium exhibition is open Monday 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.; Wednesday and Friday 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturday 10 a,m. to 6 p.m. For more information visitors may call 202-994-0032. Attention calendar editors: Please do not publish media contact information.
 
MULTIMEDIA: 
Images of selected works available upon request. 
 
BACKGROUND: 
The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design bridges the university’s academically robust programs in the arts with creative and inspired scholarship. Part of the GW Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, the school functions as an incubator for artists and practitioners in arts-related fields, and serves to enrich students who are taking classes in other areas of the university. As such, it provides a platform for engagement that bridges creative expression and practical application with the breadth and depth of the larger liberal arts education.
 
-GW-