Transforming Trash into Art...and Art into Action

The Washed Ashore sculptures are here! All six unveiling ceremonies took place this week, and you can visit the exhibits now through mid-September at the Topeka Zoo, Discovery Center, NOTO Arts Center, Washburn University, and Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library.

We hope this artwork will prompt some real reflection and discussion about the fact that "what you throw away doesn't go away." It's such an important message—and truly easy to forget when your waste is taken away on a trash truck and you never have to think of it again.

But as powerful as that message is, we're worried people won't internalize it. Admiring the sculptures is pointless if you go out to lunch afterwards and don't turn down the plastic silverware they offer you. Or if you stop to buy a pack of bottled water on the way home. The waste problem will not go away without serious mindset shifts and without action by businesses and governments that is prompted by demand from regular people. We believe that art can be powerful. But art alone will not "save the sea." People have to be moved deeply enough to translate thought into action. 

Of course, that's hard if you don't even know where to start—or if you feel like you're doing everything you can already. So if you're stuck on what to do next, let's brainstorm.

• Can you switch to coffee sold in glass or metal instead of plastic?
  
• Can you commit to checking secondhand sources anytime you buy an item of clothing?
• Can you toss your coffee grounds into the backyard instead of the trash?
• Can you (as we did at one of the unveiling ceremonies) encourage reusable dishware at your next gathering? Could you volunteer to take home the food scraps to compost?
• Can you talk to the manager of your favorite restaurant about how they could get rid of styrofoam?
  
• Can we use the momentum from this exhibit to get local restaurants on board with a returnable takeout container program?

The real creative challenge is not figuring out how to turn trash into art. It's figuring out how we, as individuals and as a society, can avoid creating trash in the first place. 

So, with that said: go see the Washed Ashore exhibits! I hope they'll get your creative brain churning with ideas and inspiration...and the motivation to do a little bit more to waste a little bit less.

-Justine