This Olio, in collaboration wit Professor Beau Bree Rhee and her series Dystopie Fleurs will be an evening of deep inquiry and collective creation. Beau's practice & teaching centers around ecology, hydrofeminism and art’s role in meaning-making within dystopian climate now.

Our opening discussions will center on Rachel Carson’s visionary work which offers radical tools for navigating our present moment. In 1951—over a decade before Silent Spring awakened the world to environmental catastrophe—Rachel Carson published The Sea Around Us. This is a scientific and philosophical text that explains the origin of the sea and life on Planet Earth. Rhee will present primary research from the Rachel Carson Archives that contextualizes not only the content of the book itself, but Carson’s rigorous truth-finding scientific & literary praxis that created this cataclysmic book, which won that year’s National Book Award.

Professor Rhee has spent the last three years deep in Carson's oceanic philosophy, and she'll interpret Carson’s work within the frameworks of ‘hydrofeminism’ and share how Carson's "magical catastrophes" of planetary beginnings help us make meaning in our current age of climate extremity. Through a short illustrated talk, you'll discover Carson's key theories and see how this work has shaped Rhee's own artistic practice—paintings and performances that speak to connection, ecology, and what she calls "radical interbeing."

After some time for lecture and discussion, the evening quickly shifts into collaborative exploration! We’ll break into small groups to read and discuss excerpts from Carson, then—guided by Rhee—create scores together: drawings, instructions, maps, actions that the whole room will activate as one. Think of it as building collective practices for belonging and resilience in dissonant times. We'll close with open conversation to create shared guidance and community.

About Rachel Carson (1907–1964): Prominent American marine biologist, ecologist, environmental activist, feminist, and award-winning author of many books, including the iconic and prescient Silent Spring.

About Dystopie Fleurs (Dystopia Flowers) Éditions provides guides (texts, art, prints, editions, workshops & more) to navigate dystopian times. These offerings are life-affirming & refreshing supports to thrive in the context of normalized catastrophes. Artist & professor Beau Bree Rhee created DF to share her research & artistic practice in more wider-reaching and accessible formats.

About Beau Bree Rhee (she/they): Visual artist and choreographer working primarily with performance and painting, additionally with scores, drawing, poetry, and installation. Her work centers on body-space-ecologies and radical interbeing. Trilingual and tricultural (Korean-American-French), based in NYC and Paris, Rhee is Assistant Professor at Parsons School of Design and has guest lectured at Columbia University, Yale University, The Whitney Museum, and Guild Hall East Hampton. Engaged in "liberation work," her practice opens life-affirming possibilities beyond extractive and oppressive systems, using movement, color, and ecological practices to create new visual and choreographic languages. Her work has been exhibited internationally, featured in the New York Times, and supported by significant fellowships and residencies.

www.beaubreerhee.info

The Sea Around Us: Origins, Imagination & the Climate Future

The Sea Around Us: Origins, Imagination & the Climate Future