Age of Union Launches Earth Centre in Montreal

Age of Union Alliance, led by tech leader and environmental activist Dax Dasilva, is proud to announce the launch of Earth Centre, the non-profit organization’s new headquarters in Montreal, which will also function as an environmental art exhibition space. In addition to serving as an office for Age of Union, the centre will feature biannual exhibits with thought-provoking art installations that reflect the organization’s mission to protect the planet’s threatened species and ecosystems. With the intent of inspiring high-impact change, Age of Union will use art to foster emotional connections between self and nature while providing teachings about critical environmental challenges around the world.

Today, Earth Centre opens its first exhibition for Spring/Summer 2022 with three key exhibits on the second floor: Earth Room by Nico Fonseca and Kelly Nunes, Anthro-Obscene by Indigenous artist Adrian Stimson, and the Interactive Environmental Arcade with its first acquisition, Écosystème Alpha by Aude Guivarc’h. Through compelling visuals, the first floor will pay homage to the incredible conservation work Age of Union is funding worldwide, beginning with the St. Lawrence River restoration with the Nature Conservancy of Canada in Quebec, the Las Piedras Amazon Rainforest sanctuary and ranger program expansion with Junglekeepers in Peru, and the patrol of critical ocean waters to protect marine wildlife around the world with Sea Shepherd via the Age of Union namesake vessel.

 “We are thrilled to unveil the Earth Centre as a landmark exhibition centre in Montreal that will concurrently serve as Age of Union’s office headquarters,” said Dax Dasilva, Founder of Age of Union. “I believe in the power of arts and culture to influence how we think about the world around us. As Planet Earth continues to be threatened by new and existing dangers, we hope to inspire change by using art to remind humankind not only of our role in the destruction of precious ecosystems but our responsibility to restore and conserve Earth for its inherent beauty.”

DETAILS ON EARTH CENTRE’S FIRST EXHIBITS:

Earth Room by Nico Fonseca and Kelly Nunes

Earth Room, a permanent interactive multimedia installation, explores the ways in which we relate to different facets of nature. From the iron crystals at the heart of the Earth’s core to the solar winds that dance through the geomagnetic field, all life forms are suspended in the balance. Earth Room is a space of myriad scales where visitors assume the pose of earthly creatures and have their perspectives filtered through teeming vegetation, light, and sound.

Anthro-Obscene in the Vitrine by Indigenous artist Adrian Stimson

The installation is intended to create moments in time where we can contemplate the impact of our actions on this earth, and that if we observe, listen to, and love the world around us, we may be able to change the current direction in which we are headed. This is a series of three paintings made with oil paint, wood ash, and feathers on Birchwood canvas, representative of Western Canada wildfires destroying forests, communities, and the air we breath. This piece is also referred to as Awwasukapi in Stimson’s Blackfoot language, often used to describe something bad yet subjective, meaning that good things can come of the bad.

Interactive Environmental Arcade with Écosystème Alpha by Aude Guivarc’h

The arcade is a wing of the Earth Centre that celebrates innovative design, technology and creation while allowing the visitor to engage with art that teaches visitors about ecology and environmental sustainability. The first acquisition, Écosystème Alpha by Aude Guivarc’h, is an allegory of the state of our planet and the impact of humans. It refers to the expression “there is no Planet B” with a 3D-printed mountain relief that has projections of natural cycles, water, wind, erosion and seasonal changes. However, when one gets too close and obstructs the projection (or worse, touches its surface), the artwork reacts and generates a destruction sequence, therefore actualizing human responsibility for environmental destruction.

“Earth Centre will be an important platform because as artists, we have a responsibility to inspire society. More than ever before, we need to surface discussions, create shock, instigate reflections, and provoke change,” says Guivarc’h. “That is what I hope to do with my installation Écosystème Alpha: help bridge the gap between the urgency of the climate crisis and the complacency with which we live comfortable lives. After all, there is no Planet B.”

The Earth Centre will also utilize green space as the seasons change. In Summer 2022, Age of Union will unveil a pool and garden with Quebec Indigenous plants along with a rooftop extension that will house several beehives.

In the Mile-Ex district of Montréal Canada, the Age of Union Earth Centre will take over the former Centre Never Apart, a non-profit arts and culture centre Dasilva opened in 2015 to host exhibitions for marginalized artistic voices. Age of Union carries that mission forward through a focus on environmental artistry.

The news of the Earth Centre launch follows Dasilva’s pledge of CAD $40 million towards critical conservation work around the world. Most recent projects include a record-breaking CAD $14.5 million donation to BC Parks Foundation and a USD $4.5 million donation to fund operations of a namesake Sea Shepherd vessel.