SOCIAL ACTION ART PROJECTS FOR ECOLOGICAL CHANGE

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Since Earth Celebrations was founded in 1991 by Felicia Young, as a non-profit orgaization, it has pioneered ecological arts programs and creative advocacy projects, such as the Procession to Save Our Gardens (1991-2005) , Lower East Side Garden Preservation Coalition (initiated in 1994) , and New York City Coalition for the Preservation of Gardens (initiated in 1996). These programs mobilized a city-wide effort to preserve the community gardens, which directly led to the preservation of many community gardens on the Lower East Side and throughout New York City.

Building upon the success of Earth Celebrations innovative strategies utilizing social action art and the theatrical pageant art-form to mobilize a grass-roots effort that preserved hundreds of gardens, Earth Celebrations ventured to apply this approach to highlight the restoration of the Hudson River as a vital urban estuarine sanctuary and address the effects climate change on the shoreline in New York City, with the Hudson River Pageant Project (2009-2012).

Earth Celebrations has empowered youth from diverse cultural backgrounds to work together creatively to raise awareness on a variety of environmental issues, highlighted by our effort to preserve the community on the Lower East Side, and throughout New York City. Earth Celebrations has grown deep roots building a community network through its unique pageant and community art programs, forging alliances, and enabling youth and adults to work together creatively to achieve common goals.

Over the years, Earth Celebrations has built strong partnerships with many of the local schools, community centers, environmental and youth and volunteer community service organizations.

Over 10,000 individuals, 200 community gardens, and 100 organizations, schools, and community centers, individuals, participate in our programs. Link to participating partners list.

Earth Celebrations has received numerous awards:

New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Public Service Award (1995-2005)
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council: Fund For Creative Communities Award (1996-Present)
& Manhattan Community Arts Fund (1993-1995)
Friends of the United Nations International Award for Creating Common Unity (1996)
International Friends of Transformative Art Award (1994)

Earth Celebrations programs have received extensive media coverage in the New York Times, and a wide variety of local and international newspapers, magazines, books, academic papers, radio, television and film documentaries. More Press

Earth Celebrations Founder/Executive Director, Felicia Young, is a social action artist who has for the past 25 years created and implemented community-based arts projects and theatrical pageants that have made an impact and established a successful model and methodology to engage communities to effect ecological and social change through the arts.