Artists Activating Sustainability: The Oregon Story

Oregon is known for its unique landscape that includes the high deserts of eastern Oregon through the former volcanoes of the Cascade Range, the breadth of the Willamette River Valley, Coast Range and finally the Pacific coast from Astoria to Brookings. Oregon has a long history of environmental planning. In 1899, the Oregon legislature declared 30 miles of Oregon beach as a public highway from the Columbia River to the south line of Clatsop County. In 1913, they declared the entire coast a public highway. Throughout the 20th century, the Oregon legislature and communities throughout Oregon have placed an emphasis on land use from the role of the timber, fishing and mining industries to the planning necessary for cities and towns. Artists Activating Sustainability: The Oregon Story considers the combination of landscape, people and social cultural ethos that were influential in the development of specific literary, visual and performing arts groups across Oregon’s diverse landscape. The manuscript examines the way in which the artists within specific communities, against the background of landscape and history, reveal concepts of sustainability that help us broaden our knowledge of what is needed to create a sustainable world.