Fire operations at a Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (TREX) outside Ashland, Oregon. photo credit: Sasha Michelle White
project spotlight:
The Confluence Lab’s inaugural Artists-In-Fire (AIF) residency will support up to 10 artists and writers from the Pacific Northwest and adjacent regions as boots-on-the-ground participants in prescribed fire. Participants will train as wildland firefighters and attend an immersive prescribed-fire module as a firefighter. Returning home, artists and writers will be asked to reflect upon this experience through their creative practice and share those reflections with their communities.
Our central premise is that the tools of the humanities and arts—especially those related to storytelling, representation, emotions, and communication—are important complements to scientific knowledge and can help develop novel approaches to environmental issues. We use the creativity generated through interdisciplinary and community-based approaches to partner with diverse communities on pragmatic projects that work toward more just, sustainable, and equitable futures, focusing especially on issues such as public land use, wildland fire and fire management, and the causes and effects of climate change.
our primary goal
who we are
The Confluence Lab engages in creative interdisciplinary research projects that bring together scholars in the arts, humanities, and sciences, together with community members, to engage in environmental issues impacting rural communities.
thanks to our research partners & affliates:
