The mission of the Mount Desert Symposium in the Arts, "LandEscapes," is to establish an annual interdisciplinary program that brings together the arts and the sciences to explore and connect themes related to community and global issues. Each year a limited number of scholars, artists and activists are invited to reside on the island with volunteer hosts. They have the opportunity to experience the beauty and history of Mount Desert Island, as well as present their work to diverse year-round and summer communities. In return, they share their skills and expertise in the form of workshops, dialogues, installations and panel discussions in various venues and locations that change from year to year.

LandEscapes 2005

GONE FISHING is dedicated to children (of all ages) around the world. This year LandEscapes is focusing on outdoor installations, books, and a panel, exploring the link between fishing as an activity as well as a concept, searching and exploring new ideas and materials. These will be presented as a collaborative between adults and children.

LandEscapes 2004DESIRE LINES

DESIRE LINES: those well-worn ribbons of paths that one sees cutting across a patch of grass, often with nearby walkways—particularly  those that offer a less direct route—ignored. In winter, desire lines appear spontaneously as tramped down paths in the snow. These paths are never perfectly straight. Instead, like a river, they meander this way and that, as if to prove that desire itself isn’t linear and (literally, in this case) straightforward.

LandEscapes 2003

WATER MARKS: Inside and Outside will contemplate the common ground between art and science as it relates to water.

Land Escapes 2002

SENSING BALANCE seeks to explore the relationship between the arts and science as well as the ongoing challenge for global balance.

LandEscapes 2001

Landscape in the 21st Century: The goal and focus of the 2001 symposium was to explore the meaning and context of art and the landscape in the 21st Century.