Arts and Climate Change

Wednesday, October 17, 9:30am – 11:00am

Organized by Edwin Torres, associate director, The Rockefeller Foundation.

Presented by Xavier Cortada, artist-in-residence, Florida International University College of Architecture + The Arts | Office of Engaged Creativity; Eric Sanderson, senior conservation ecologist, Wildlife Conservation Society; Vicki Weiner, deputy director, Pratt Center for Community Development.

This session will explore strategies for leveraging art and design to address issues of climate change, one of the defining topics of our time. The session will include a representative of Pratt Center for Community Development, which has used the arts to engage Brooklyn community members in energy efficiency upgrades of their homes; Wildlife Conservation Society’s Dr. Eric Sanderson, who is developing an online forum that allows the public to develop and share climate-resilient designs for New York City; and Xavier Cortada, artist-in-residence, Florida International University College of Architecture + The Arts | Office of Engaged Creativity, who has created eco-art installations at the Earth's poles to generate global awareness and developed participatory art projects to engage communities in local action, including his work with scientists, arborists, and environmental managers to develop eco-art projects in communities from Florida to Hawaii that engage residents in bioremediation.