Artist in Residence Sheryl Maree Reily spends two weeks in mid-June and mid-September exploring, documenting and interpreting peatlands in the Homer area through photographic research and documentation, interviews and community engagement. Sheryl’s residency is sponsored by Bunnell Street Arts Center and Homer Drawdown.

Homer Drawdown is a collaborative community project focused on climate solutions and specifically, the preservation and restoration of local peatlands. Homer Drawdown supports sustainable climate actions while uplifting the continued stewardship of the land by the indigenous Dena’ina and Sugpiaq people, who have called the Kenai Peninsula home for thousands of years.

Peatlands are widely under-recognized and misunderstood as ‘undesirable’ lands, overlooked for their roles in ecosystems, local economies, and climate stability. The Homer Drawdown Peatland Project aims to reverse that sentiment. The project will conduct surveys of local peatlands, assemble knowledge about the various animals, plant and human lives that rely on their healthy function, historically and presently, and study and document the valuable role of peat in the carbon cycle and climate change on the Kenai Peninsula.

Through art, we hope to bring the stories assembled from this research to our communities to elevate peatlands in people’s minds and hearts, to illuminate the interconnectedness of peatlands and people, and to impact the management and preservation of peatlands as our landscapes transition into an undetermined future.

Peatland Project Showcase & Celebration

Friday September 17th 5:30 – 8pm

At the Pratt Museum