Artists To Discuss 'Making Beauty as a Return to the Earth' at Environmental Art Show

In conjunction with the closing of the Environmental Art Show at the Weinberg Memorial Library, members of the University community are invited to join for "Waymarks Toward Reunion: Making Beauty as a Return to the Earth," an artist talk with Patrick Beldio, Ph.D. and Waymarks Fellow Gabriella Palmer '26 on April 21 at 5 p.m. in the Charles Kratz Scranton Heritage Room.

What does it mean to return — to the earth, to ourselves, to what is sacred in the ordinary? This talk brings together a sculptor and a playwright at a shared creative threshold:

* Beldio, Artist-in-Residence at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land and Visiting Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at The University of Scranton, introduces his grant-funded program Waymarks Toward Reunion and reflects on his own creative and spiritual practices, and how these inform and are informed by his scholarship and teaching in the classroom.

* Palmer '26, a Scranton student and Waymarks Fellow, shares her latest original play: a retelling of "The Prodigal Son" as family drama with magical realism, that also examines the theme of reunion with nature.

Beldio and Palmer will discuss what making art asks of both artist and audience, what the word reunion means in a week devoted to the Earth, and how they each entered the creative threshold from different doors. The talk concludes with a Q&A.

Planning To Attend? Get the Details.

This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be available.

The 2026 Environmental Art Show runs from April 13 to 22 in the Charles Kratz Scranton Heritage Room and is open to the public during the library's operational hours.

Direct questions regarding this event to Marleen Cloutier via email at marleen.cloutier@scranton.edu