April 25, 2023
Artist Valérie Chartrand and conservation biologist Dr. Heather Kharouba engage in a cross-disciplinary discussion about the decline of insect populations due to climate change, habitat loss and introduced species. Chartrand will be sharing her artistic explorations to evoke insect disappearance, and Kharouba will speak of her work in an endangered ecosystem on Vancouver Island and with the monarch butterfly in Eastern Ontario.
Valérie Chartrand’s practice focuses on the loss of biodiversity and reduction in insect populations due to climate change and human interference in insect life cycles. She primarily employs imprint techniques, using found insects and non-toxic materials. She has participated in several artist residencies and group exhibitions. Her first solo exhibition, Ghost Hives, took place at La Maison des artistes in Winnnipeg in 2017. Her MFA thesis show, Inspiderations, was presented at Gallery 101 in Ottawa in 2021.
Dr. Heather Kharouba is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Ottawa. Her lab researches how and why species are responding to climate and land use changes, how we can more accurately predict these responses, and how we can more effectively manage our ecosystems in the context of these environmental changes. She has current research partnerships with Environment and Climate Change Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and collaborates with NGOs like the Canadian Wildlife Federation.
