Wildfire art and science discussion comes to Seeley Lake

SEELEY LAKE -- The community is invited to attend a traveling University of Idaho exhibit of art and open community discussion about wildfire and our shared future. The creative voices of artists and fire practitioners are connected with people in communities highly affected by recent fires in the Northern Rockies.

The art exhibit will be on display from 2-8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29, at the Seeley Lake Community Center. A discussion of what fire science tells us will be led by University of Idaho fire scientist Penny Morgan and artist Stacy Isenbarger at 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. amongst the art pieces.

"Conversations through the Smoke," includes art from 15 different fire managers, firefighters and others involved with fire management. It aims to foster conversations that will help everyone adapt to the future living with fire and smoke. With more large fires burning more area now and in the future, we need more conversations in communities about how we'll adapt to what scientists tell us will continue. Last year, Isenbarger was in Seeley Lake working with seventh and eighth grade students during Wildfire Awareness Week as they created art based on their experiences of fire and smoke in 2017.

Morgan is a professor in the University of Idaho's College of Natural Resources. A professor in the Department of Forest, Rangeland and Fire Science, her research focuses on where, when and how fires affect forests.

Isenbarger is an associate professor of art and design at the University of Idaho's College of Art and Architecture. Her artworks incites viewers through dynamic interplay between media, space and cultural signifiers. Her work simultaneously investigates ideas and materials, transforming the familiar in new and thought provoking ways.

The University of Idaho and the Northern Fire Science Network sponsored this event. Both serve as a go-to resource for managers and scientists involved in fire and fuels management in the Northern Rockies.

"Conversations through the Smoke" will also take place Oct. 8-10 in Moscow, Idaho and Oct. 19 in Salmon, Idaho. We had more than 225 people see the show in New Meadows, Idaho on Sept. 1. Morgan and Isenbarger have collaborated on art and the science of fire since 2016, including the Visualizing Science exhibit now on display in Idaho Falls, Idaho.