Rillito River Project on NPR
Listen to Patmore Lewis discuss the Rillito River Project and our work.
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Rillito River Project by Patmore Lewis
Learn all about the Rillito River Project CD and find out where to buy it.
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Watch the Introduction
View the introduction by Ellen Benjoya Skotheim, Creative Director, Rillito River Project (Video).
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The project is envisioned as a series of ongoing events in which artists conceive and plan artwork to be installed or performed in the riverbed. The work is documented with photography, video and prose.
The dry Rillito riverbed that runs east to west through Tucson, Arizona was chosen for its rustic beauty contrasted against the majestic Santa Catalina Mountains. Once flowing year-round, the Rillito now runs primarily during the summer monsoon season.
Global climate change, unprecedented population growth, and serious drought threaten the already tenuous water resources of the Southwest. During the long, dry season, walkers, cyclists, and riders on horseback descend from the adjacent park system into a landscape of stark beauty, shadowed by loss.
The Rillito River Project, inaugurated in January, 2007, “Aims to raise awareness of the impact of global climate change on the vanishing rivers of the Southwest” says Rillito River Project’s Creative Director, Ellen Benjoya Skotheim. “We want to draw attention to the devastating effects on the environment and increase consciousness of the delicate balance of life and river ecosystems in the desert through art performance and installations.”
The first performance by the Rillito River Project, Fishing on the Rillito, was performed at the end of concept week in January, 2007. Artist Ap Gorny is creating a print commemorating the event.
The second, Elemental Flow preview concert, was performed by Patmore Lewis in October, 2007. The composition appears on his recent CD release, Rillito River Project. A portion of the profits from the CD sales is returned to Rillito River Project to fund future events.
Rillito River Project artists and participants 2008: Ellen Benjoya Skotheim, Ap Gorny, Patmore Lewis, Vidar Lerum, Chris Tanz, Angela Rose, Susan Lobo, Karen Stahlecker, Terrol Dew Johnson, John Newman, Mike Treeful, Joan Kaye Cauthorn, Catherene Morton, Vic Baker, Kimble Cohn, Michael McNulty, Yar Petryszyn, Ruth Bunny Davis, Jennifer Powers-Murphy