Visitors Invited to Participate in Sharon Arts Exhibition: Help “River” Grow and Take “Off the Bottle” Pledge

Torn pieces of paper encourage exhibition visitors to add to the "River of Words Stream of Conscience" throughout the installation's run (till April 30th). Above are some community voices about water.
The public is invited to participate in the ongoing exhibit at
Sharon Arts Center Downtown Gallery, River of Words Stream of Conscience
which calls attention to worldwide water crises that deprives more than a billion people access to clean water. 5 million die every year from preventable water-related diseases annually. In an effort to help the community explore the exhibition’s content, Sharon Arts is pleased to announce two new opportunities to participate when you visit the exhibition gallery. Now you can add your voice to the living installation and become a part of one powerful solution to this global plight. Here’s how:
1. Visitors are encouraged to sign an “Off the Bottle Pledge” vowing to never purchase single-use, disposable plastic water bottles again. The pledge encourages folks to drink tap water and carry a reusable container. This special effort is courtesy of a partnership with the Peterborough Rotary Club. Anyone who signs the pledge gets a bookmark and a sticker that say “I am off the bottle.” In addition, reusable water bottles are available at the gallery for purchase ($15) complete with the “River of Words Stream of Conscience” logo to honor this pledge.
2. Visitors are invited “Grow” or contribute to the River installation. Artist Christine Destrempes has made materials available for those wishing to add their sentiments and creative expressions to the swelling “stream of conscience.” There are pre-torn pieces of paper with simple prompts and easy instructions that visitors of all ages can use to contribute to this living installation. Visitors are invited to come back watch the installation evolve as other visitors contribute their thoughts.
These opportunities are an ongoing part of Sharon Arts’ current exhibition: “River of Words Stream of Conscience,” a public-participation art installation by Harrisville, NH artist Christine Destrempes. The two-month long exhibition (open till April 30th, 2011) draws attention to the plight of one billion people currently living without access to clean water and the two billion without basic sanitation. More than five million people die every year from preventable, water-related diseases because they do not have access to clean water. For information about more exhibition-related events and programs, call (603)924-7676.
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About Sharon Arts
The mission of Sharon Arts Center, a non-profit organization, is to engage the community in the artistic process, to support and serve artists and craftspeople, and to foster the relationship between artists and the community through education, exhibitions, the promotion and sale of art and craft, as well as through special programs and events.
Sharon Arts Center offers a wide variety of art classes and programs in the school facility in Sharon, NH, a Fine Craft Gallery, a Juried Artist Member Gallery, and an Exhibition Gallery at Depot Square.
The Sharon Arts Fine Crafts Exhibition Gallery is accessed through Depot Square and 30 Grove St. in downtown Peterborough. The Craft Gallery is located in Depot Square in Downtown Peterborough. Store & Exhibition Gallery hours are: Monday – Saturday 11am to 6pm, Sunday 11 – 4 PM.
River of Words Stream of Conscience is sponsored in part by Filtrine Manufacturing Company of Keene.
Sharon Arts is sponsored in part by the The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, The National Endowment for the Arts through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, The Susan A. & Donald P. Babson Charitable Foundation, The Bean Foundation, The Max & Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, The Grimshaw-Gudewicz Charitable Foundation, The Kingsbury Foundation, and art lovers like you!