frack, crack, boom, bang

Frack, Crack, Boom, Bang: A call for artists to uplift voices of those touched by fracking and extraction from our landscapes.

DVAA is pleased to announce a call for artists to uplift the voices of those touched by fracking through artistic exploration that will create visibility and increase public awareness, knowledge, and care for the impacts fracking and extraction have on communities.

Proposals in any artistic form are welcome, including but not limited to visual art, installation, music, film, live performance, immersive theatre, and beyond. Projects should be public-facing to allow for in-person community engagement.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

We have partnered with Damascus Citizens for Sustainability (DCS) and the Ohio Valley Allies to collect oral histories and narratives from people living on the front lines of “frack country”.

Living in “frack country” has been described as living in a war zone. Big oil’s insatiable hunt for fuel has fractured lives, divided communities, and threatens delicate ecosystems we inhabit and rely on. Our land. The air we breathe. The water we drink. Everything that becomes part of us builds our bodies and landscapes or poisons them.

Everyone is affected by fracking in some way. Yet there are no solutions until we as a culture, feel a need for them.

As artists, we are called to bridge the gaps between science and emotion, culture and communities — what can you create from frontline narratives that sheds light not only on fracking’s impact on people and the planet but the traumas and lived experiences faced every day by those on the front lines?

We invite artists to choose one or more narratives to act as a spark, a springboard, for a creative work. If selected, there will be further opportunities to collaborate with narrators, community members, and the Ohio Valley Allies.

NARRATIVES

• Richard Cummins — The story of a brine truck driver. Highlights health scares and concerns, lack of equitable pay, and negative economic impacts.
• Jill Hunkler — Fracking came to her homeplace and has completely usurped her life. She talks about losing connection to the landscapes she loves, how changes were rapid and uncertain, disturbances to daily life, and negative health impacts. “[Fracking] is destroying everyone’s children’s future and right to a happy, healthy life…”
• Jesse Lombardi — Jesse was an oil and gas dispatch coordinator and provides a perspective as an industry worker. Discusses experiencing and witnessing negative health impacts and concerns about his workers and the community he’s always lived in. He educated his fellow workers on radioactivity and health and toxicity of the chemicals they are exposed to.
• Felecia Mettler — Felicia describes herself as an “Accidental Activist”. Discusses frack waste threatening future generations, water contamination, and her experience being an activist on the front lines. Tension and contradictions arise with the community; community members are often hesitant to participate in protests against oil and gas companies due to fear, even though they agree with her work. Struggles with regret and what will happen if she acts or doesn’t act for her children.
• Sean O’Leary — Senior researcher at Ohio River Valley Institute (ORVI); research on failed economic promises of oil and gas.
• Bob and Darlene Williamson — The Fracking industry has taken away their attachment to their home, community, and land. The couple faces constant anxiety from fracking activities, noise, stress about health and contamination, and concern for their animals. They discuss health impacts and air quality and the fight to obtain and present data on contaminants.

DETAILS

• Two projects will be selected.
• We invite proposals from any artistic medium that will culminate in a physical presentation.
• We welcome collaborations or multi-artist proposals
• Projects will be presented by DVAA in Narrowsburg, NY over the weekend of July 18th — 20th, 2025 during Upstate Art Weekend.

TIMELINE

• Marketing/Promotional materials due by June 13, 2025
• Installation week – July 14 – July 18, 2025
• Presentation weekend – July 18 – 20, 2025