We provide a platform for artists, architects, landscape architects, and other creatives to work with engineers and scientists to bring forward human-centered solutions for sustainable energy infrastructures that enhance the city as works of public art while cleanly powering thousands of homes.

We find inspiration from three fundamental sources: the Land Art and Eco Art movements, which opened the door to artists working at the scale of the environment; the recognition that wind turbines and solar arrays are beginning to have a sizable impact on the constructed environment; and a recognition of the role that creatives can have on accelerating popular acceptance and the implementation of practical solutions to social problems.

This initiative is all about big ideas. We are often asked how many land art generators we have constructed so far. After five years since the start of the project, we are now in the process of bringing some of them to life, but we need to recognize that these design ideas are ambitious and will require significant resources and stakeholder support to implement.

We are inspired by the work of the Living Future Institute, IDEO, and The Biomimicry Institute, just to name a few. We are also inspired by artists who have placed the environment and social change at the center of their work, from the Earth Art and Eco Art movements, to artists who have pushed the boundaries of social practice and infrastructure-as-art.

We recently held an Art+Energy Summer Camp in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh, where we worked with 20 talented young minds to design and construct a functioning 4.1 kWp solar artwork for the Homewood Renaissance Community Center. The project and outcomes reinforced the importance of engaging people (of all ages) with the design and implementation of renewable energy technologies so that these objects can be celebrated as part of a broader grassroots community development strategy.