Vince Packard’s Dryad Altar is partly made of a toilet seat. Packard said many of the parts of his artwork are given to him from friends. KATIE ROUPE | DAILY KENT STATER

Credit: Ron Soltys

Dryads Art Exhibition begins Saturday through May 3 at Standing Rock Cultural Arts

257 North Water St.

Downtown Kent

This Saturday, the Standing Rock Cultural Arts Center will be kicking off its annual Earth Day celebration with the Dryads Art Exhibit. The opening will mark the sixth year the gallery on North Water Street in Kent has been hosting an environmental art show. Curating the exhibit is Vince Packard.

Jeff Ingram, executive director of the Standing Rock Cultural Arts Center, claimed the event is a great reflection of the gallery’s purpose.

“The big picture is that we want to build community through the arts,” Ingram said. “I’ve enjoyed the environmental arts shows a lot in the past because I like nature for one and because it’s a great theme for our time as we watch environmental degradation around us. Art should be a part of that learning experience — a message board, a visual newspaper made to delight the senses.”

When asked about the connection between the environmental art exhibit and Earth Day, Ingram said, “This isn’t meant to be about Earth Day. This gallery should be in the spring, a time in which our environment is changing. There is a renewal of life and a renaissance of energy.”

And this gallery has everything to do with the planet. Artists whose works will be featured are Robert Anderson, Rebecca Urbanski, Krisztina Hajnalka, Vince Packard, Ursula Rauh and Bernadette Glorioso.

This year’s environmental art exhibit is based around dryads, female spirits in Greek tradition whose purpose was to protect trees.

“We want more environmental awareness, a chance to celebrate Earth,” Ingram said. “We want to learn more about the living systems upon which we all survive. This exhibit is a great way to do that.”

The exhibit, opening at 8 p.m. on Saturday, is the beginning of the Who’s Your Mama? Earth Day Festival. Events will be going on throughout the month of April. Find out more at http://whosyourmama.org or http://standingrock.net.

Contact all reporter Douglas Hite at [email protected].