The Ground Upon Which We Stand

The past month has been a whirlwind of transition and uncertainty, and many are deeply affected by the Coronavirus crisis. Because the date to a return to normal socializing cannot be determined, The Ground Upon Which We Stand Exhibition is now an online experience on the NCWCA website.

Seventy-eight artists speak out about the sacredness of the land and the importance of standing your ground in this era of climate change in The Ground Upon Which We Stand. This regional juried exhibition is sponsored by the Northern California Women’s Caucus for Art, a nonprofit.

In the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, broken climate accord agreements, gutting of the EPA, record-breaking heat, and global conflagration, this show examines artists’ reactions to the sacredness of nature and the existential crisis of our time: global degradation. The Ground Upon Which We Stand also shines a spotlight on women's identities and their embodied experiences with planet Earth. 

With works represented in all media, The Ground Upon Which We Stand offers messages to and from the planet through the artists’ examinations and responses to nature, environmental pressures, society and the fate of our only home, Planet Earth. The artworks engage on many levels – wonder, worry, hopefulness, activism. Some of the exhibit’s artists clearly oppose technology-industry-capitalism-globalization and advocate for a simpler way of life or a return to ancestral lifeways. Alternatively, some portray technology and globalization as compatible with environmental integrity, envisioning a future that ends pollution, over-crowding, and the extinction of species. Echoing Greta Thunberg’s call to action, The Ground Upon Which We Stand stresses that there is no plan B nor planet B.