Lexicon of Sustainability - a story to tell

One of the images that will be on display at this weekend's Pop-Up Poster Show. Source: Lexicon of Sustainability website. 

This weekend, January 18-19 at Journeyman Distillery in Three Oaks, MI the second of four seasonal shows of Douglas Gayeton's amazing art will be on display. These images are part of a larger collection that combine images and words to tell the story of what sustainability in our food system means. I've been asked many time why I am putting these shows on. The answer is simple, to me anyway.

The project impressed me when I saw the images last summer in Goshen, IN. And being aware of many people who were interested in and doing sustainable agriculture or trying to address food issues, I thought these would be a way to possibly connect people of like interests as well as provide information to people who may not have considered some of these terms and the impacts and opportunities they represent. So I just did it. I made the contact to get the posters here and began to recruit others for spaces for shows and involvement during shows. My original idea morphed into seasonal shows which seems to be a good thing as they can potentially reach more people and keep the topic out there. I've been amazed and incredibly humbled by the support provided by people opening their venues, taking their time to be present as hosts (first show) and resources (this show) as well and the extraordinarily generous support of people providing graphic, PR and social media support. No one is getting paid. This is something that people believe in so they are involved. And this creates a really strong connection.

Looking ahead, there will be a Spring show and a Summer show. They too will be volunteer efforts. The question is what then? What will come out of four seasons of shows that will have occurred by the end of Summer? People can make a difference so if you come and connect with someone and have an idea, follow it. Maybe others are out there. Make connections. If you want people to work on issues, work on them yourself. Involve others. Keep trying. And as Ghandi said "Be the change you want to see."

Hope to see you this weekend!