LANCASTER – Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich will lead The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in an awards ceremony in January honoring the project team for Wasteland: Turning Illegally Dumped Waste Into Art.
The three-month environmental art project was developed by the Eastside High School Art Department and the Lancaster Museum of Art and History (MOAH) .
The entire project team, including project leaders, a group of 55 students, volunteers, and support staff, will be honored for their creative contribution to combating illegal dumping in the Antelope Valley. The recognition ceremony takes place at 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, January 7 in a televised public meeting at the downtown Los Angeles County Chambers, located at 500 W. Temple Street in the Kenneth Han Hall of Administration. All are welcome to attend the event. Attendees are advised to arrive at 9 a.m., to allow time to go through security.
“The Wasteland team designed and implemented a model for success that has set the precedent for future projects by actively and creatively combating illegal dumping in our neighborhoods,” said Supervisor Antonovich. “They definitely earned this recognition.”
The Wasteland project was funded by a grant from the Antelope Valley Illegal Dumping Task Force (AVIDTF) to help prevent illegal dumping in Los Angeles County.
The objective of Wasteland was to teach—through hands-on art making—as many students and community members as possible about the environmental, social, aesthetic and economic impacts of illegal dumping on the High Desert ecosystem.
The project involved more than 600 visual and performing arts students who made sculptures and musical instruments from the objects they collected at illegal dump sites bordering Lancaster and Palmdale. Presentations were given on the effects of illegal dumping and how to help prevent it from occurring. Students were bussed to the dump sites and equipped with ample trash bags and gloves for a day of cleanup. Sculpture making workshops were facilitated at Eastside High School to help students transform the material into works of art.
The project was overseen by Robyn Young, Eastside High School Art Department Chair and Cross-Curricular Coordinator, along with MOAH’s Museum Manager and Curator, Andi Campognone.
“Many students came to the project with little or no sculpture-making experience and took with them a great sense of achievement by honing creative problem solving skills throughout the entire project. They demonstrated a tremendous willingness to get their hands dirty and transform unusual materials into whimsical works of art,” said Young. “In 29 years as an art educator, I have never witnessed students stretching themselves as creatively and in taking on as many leadership roles as they did on Wasteland.”
The Wasteland collaboration yielded more than 70 large and small-scale flower sculptures, which were showcased at MOAH during its one year anniversary celebration of its new state-of-the-art building.
–