In Questa, New Mexico, a tailings pond from the former molybdenum mine has been turned into a solar field that generates enough energy to meet 80 percent of the community’s power needs. The “Solar-Powered Village” brings Taos County youth and UNM students together to engage with local energy topics. In a workshop in Questa led by Andrea Polli with support from the QEDF DOI/VISTA, students and youth use smartphone tools including “Data Gather”, an Android app developed by students in Polli’s lab socialmediaworkgroup.com. At The PASEO, the youth and students presented their work and invited visitors to contribute ideas about the future of energy. This project has been jointly organized by LEAP, STEMarts, The Social Media Workgroup and The PASEO and is part of Questa’s 2015 “Luz es Vida” Program.

About the artist: Andrea Polli is an environmental artist working at the intersection of art, science and technology.  Her interdisciplinary research has been presented as public artworks, media installations, community projects, performances, broadcasts, mobile and geolocative media, publications, and through the curation and organization of public exhibitions and events. She creates artworks designed to raise awareness of environmental issues. Often these works express scientific data obtained through her collaborations with scientists and engineers and have taken the form of sound art, vehicle-based works, public light works, mobile media experiences, and bio-art and design.  Polli holds an MFA in Time Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a PhD in practice-led research from the University of Plymouth in the UK.