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Exhibit: Our Future with Fire

'Pyro Futures' Looks at Reality of Fire-Integrated Landscapes

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Man and woman at exhibit featuring maps, photos and video of fire
Brett Milligan and Emily Schlickman, professors of landscape architecture and environmental design, at the Manetti Shrem Museum at 嘿嘿视频 where their exhibit "Pyro Futures" is on display. (Jael Mackendorf/嘿嘿视频)

Wildfires in California have increased . In 2020, nearly 10,000 wildfires burned 3.5 million acres of California. Now, an exhibit at 嘿嘿视频 makes manifest the impending impact of California鈥檚 fiery future. 

鈥淭hese larger, more severe, more intense fires are something that we鈥檙e going to have to deal with,鈥 said Brett Miligan, 嘿嘿视频 professor of landscape architecture and environmental design. 

Pyro Futures, a current exhibit at the in the collections classroom, explores the reality of a fire-integrated landscape through interactive displays and mixed media. The installation, designed by Milligan and Emily Schlickman, also a professor in landscape architecture and environmental design, is on view until June 16. Note that the exhibition cannot be viewed when a class is in session, but a visitor can browse the rest of the museum until class is finished. Check with a museum representative for more information.

Man in kitchen

A post-fire landscape  (Courtesy)

The professors said they were inspired to start working together after the 2020 fire season, and wrote Design by Fire: Resistance, Co-Creation, and Retreat in the Pyrocene (Routledge, 2023). The book delves into different approaches toward wildfire and urban interactions, showcasing design case studies around the world. 

鈥淚 think it just hit a little close to home, as it was burning by Lake Berryessa,鈥 Schlickman said. 

The exhibit, based on the book and built through the collaboration of artists and ecologists, aims to show the nuances in the spectrum of how wildfires will shape our environment, and to prompt discussions around the influence of high intensity fires in approaching seasons. 鈥淎s community members, we have agency in deciding what our future might look like with fire,鈥 Milligan said. Schlickman and Miligan also have firsthand experience and involvement in fire management. Under the guidance of indigenous-led fire groups and UC reserve management, the professors do controlled burns as practicing fire stewards.

The exhibit is interactive 鈥  and visitors can pin their location on a map of California and select from a few of the 36 fire-themed postcards to take home. Next to the map, a large glass display builds out three possible scenarios in our fire future with photos and burnt objects, meant to help people envision alternate future realities in California鈥檚 landscape. 

Man in kitchen

Burnie the Bobcat is one proposed mascot for fire advocacy. (Jael Mackendorf/嘿嘿视频)

鈥淲e just want to trigger everyone鈥檚 imagination. It could be very positive or it might be apocalyptic if we don鈥檛 really do anything,鈥 Milligan said. There are also journals for visitors to sit down, read, and answer questions about fire. A video of prescribed burnings plays projected across from the glass display, providing an immersive, fire-inspired ambiance to the exhibit.  

The professors also maintain for Pyro Futures, which features an interactive online journal for public entries, as well as a poll for creating a new good fire mascot. 鈥淏urnie the Bobcat is definitely pulling a lot of votes, but Cinder the Coyote is close behind,鈥 Miligan said. 

The professors also have fire-advocate mascot Burnie up on a billboard on the I-80 highway. It reads: 鈥淥nly you can decide our fiery future.鈥

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