Sustainability. GMO vs. non-GMO. Antibiotic-free. Phrases and words about agriculture and healthy living abound, but what do they really mean and how are they applicable in everyday life?
That’s the question a Bangor-area group promoting sustainability and access to healthy food is hoping to answer through an art show featuring work from the pop-up art series “The Lexicon of Sustainability.”
The Bangor Area Food Council is a newly formed organization working to increase accessibility to healthy food for all people in Greater Bangor. According to the group’s Facebook page, members collaborate with local farmers, producers and consumers to educate about healthy food.
The Lexicon of Sustainability is a crowdsourced project that works to educate, engage and inspire people to “pay closer attention to how they eat, what they buy and where their responsibility begins for creating a healthier, safer food system in America.” It was founded in 2009 by two Petaluma, California, residents, Douglas Gayeton and Laura Howard-Gayeton.
University of Maine sustainability coordinator and research assistant professor Daniel Dixon said the couple’s mission and work is right in line with the Bangor group.
“The whole [pop-up show] series is focused on the words we use and educating people about the language of sustainability and what that means,” Dixon, who also is a member of the food council and applied to bring the show to Bangor, said.
Each year, the “Lexicon of Sustainability” organization selects 100 individuals or groups such as the Bangor Area Food Council to become curators of the show. Applicants receive 24 posters, each featuring a word and text relating to agriculture and healthy living. Dixon said the posters were created by more than 200 agricultural professionals and consumers. Once selected, he and others created wooden frames for each of Bangor’s 24 posters so they can be used throughout the city at future shows.
“The pieces we received were focused on sustainable ag and food systems and the food council is focused on a similar mission, so it was a good match,” Dixon said.
The “Lexicon of Sustainability” show will be held June 5 at COESPACE in Bangor, 48 Columbia St. There will be a showing at noon and another from 5 to 9 p.m. as part of the Bangor Artwalk. For more information about the event or the Bangor Area Food Council, visit their Facebook page or email bangorareafoodcouncil@gmail.com. Friday’s events are free. Attendees for the lunch viewing are encouraged to bring lunch as well as sample food from local vendors.