Diggin’ the arts

The David Winton Bell Gallery has joined artist Mark Dion, Brockton's Fuller Museum of Art, UMass-Dartmouth's University Gallery and New Bedford's Whaling Museum in a collaborative effort to turn trash into art as part of "Mark Dion: The New England Digs Project."

With assistance from students at Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design, Dion conducted pseudo-archaeological digs April 3-6 along the banks of the Seekonk River. The students collected contemporary cultural artifacts — what some people call "garbage" — which will be cleaned, categorized and ultimately presented in a traveling exhibition.

Students prowl the banks of the Seekonk River for "The New England Digs Project" (John Abromowski photo)

Digs were also conducted in New Bedford (under the auspices of the University Gallery at UMass-Dartmouth and the New Bedford Whaling Museum) at the former site of O'Malley's Tavern on April 9 to 13, and in Brockton at 70 E. Battle St. on April 16-20.

Cleaning sessions will be held at the List Art Center April 23 to 27 and at the Whaling Museum in New Bedford from April 30 to May 4. The cleaning sessions are open to the public.

The resulting exhibition will be on view at the Fuller Museum of Art from June 2 through Sept. 2; at the Bell Gallery next February and March; and at the University Gallery at UMass-Dartmouth during the summer of 2002.

Dion, a New Bedford native, has based his work on his strong environmental concerns and a multitude of interests that include ornithology, entomology, history, archaeology and museum practices. His work has been included in major international exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale and the Carnegie International, as well in London's Tate Modern Museum and New York's Museum of Modern Art.

For further information, contact the Bell Gallery at 863-2932.