Earth Celebrations Engaging Communities to Generate Ecological and Social Change through the Arts
ECOLOGICAL CITY WORKSHOPS 2020
ECOLOGICAL CITY was planned as 6-month collaborative art project engaging gardeners, artists, organizations, schools, youth and residents of the Lower East Side of Manhattan through 25 public workshop sessions, 20 additional artist workshop prep sessions, 25 artist/community partner collaboration sessions to create a public theatrical pageant with 20 site performances, celebrating climate solutions initiatives throughout the community gardens, neighborhood and East River Park waterfront.
Due to the Covid-19 crisis and social distancing mandates by mid-March this project in the midst of production was seamlessly transitioned to a live stream workshops and virtual format after 2 public planning.visioning sessions at the Loisaida Inc. Center and 5 public workshops held at Earth Celebrations’ workshop space at the Sixth Street Community Center. Scheduled workshops continued as live streams as per planned schedule on our Facebook page from artists and volunteers homes. Artists and community partner collaborative performances were reimagined and developed to be shared as zoom collaborations and videos for a culminating virtual pageant featured on Earth Celebrations’ Facebook page on Saturday May 9, 2020 11am – 4pm.
Ecological City – Art & Climate Climate Solutions – Pageant Public Planning Meeting / Visioning Sessions at Loisaida Inc. Center
November 13, 2019
Public Planning Meeting/Visioning Sessions at Loisaida Inc. Center engaged community members to present current related climate issues to be addressed as themes for the Ecological City pageant. Participants explored these themes and engaged on designs for visual art, puppets, costumes, dance, music, theater and poetry to be developed and then created through the public workshops beginning end of February through May 9th pageant. Dr. Paul Mankiewicz of the Gaia Institute discussed natural solutions to remediate pollution, water quality and cultivate regenerative cities. Wendy Brawer of Green Map explains the UN Global SDG Sustainable Development Goals and their connection to local climate solutions
February 5, 2020
Ecological City – Art & Climate Climate Solutions – Pageant Public Planning Meeting / Visioning Sessions at Loisaida Inc. Center
Ecological City – Art & Climate Solutions Workshops February 29 – May 6 – Wednesdays 6pm & Saturdays 12pm
The Workshops began at Earth Celebrations’ workshop space at the Sixth Street Community Center with our artists-in-residence Lucrecia Novoa (puppetry) and Michele Brody (costumes) engaging community participants. The Covid-19 pandemic required us to reimagine our plans and transition these workshops by mid-March to live streams as per planned schedule on our Facebook page from artists and volunteers homes.
Local artists and gardeners Dee Dee Maucher (MOS Collective), along with Kathy Creutzburg, lead several workshops engaging participants on Bio-Arts techniques to grow elements of the Zero Waste and Carbon Sequestration costumes from mycelium (fungi), kombucha tea to make a leathery fabric and kombu seaweed to form into a headdress and bustier. These organic materials used for the costume were com posable and bio-degradable exemplifying the costumes Zero Waste theme.
Ecological City – Costume Workshops with Michele Brody and Bio-Arts with Dee Maucher and Kathy Creutzburg – Wednesdays March 4 – March 11 at the 6th Street Community Center
Ecological City -2020- SDG- Sustainable Development Goals Visual Art & Costume
Ecological City 2020 – Bio Arts Video
Ecological City – Puppet Workshops with Lucrecia Novoa – Saturdays February 29 – March 14 at the 6th Street Community Center
Ecological City – Transition preparation session with artists and a few volunteers preparing to take materials and parts of projects home to live stream sessions going forward.
March 22 – May 6 Ecological City Workshops are live stream sessions from remote locations and artists and volunteers homes.
SDG – Sustainable Development Goal Staffs
David Mcgreevy, Thomas Harris and neighbors volunteer to paint SDG Sustainable Development Goals staffs on their roof connecting UN global SDG’s to local sites and their climate solutions initiatives
Rosa & Pedro volunteer to work on SDG Sustainable Development Goals Costume and live stream sessions on Wednesday from home working on the ribbons for the dress
Anastasia Artimiev volunteered to take parts of the SDG Sustainable Development Goal Headdress home and live stream sessions
Michele Brody – Art & Climate Solutions Costume Workshops
6th Street Community Center – Started March 4 – every Wednesday through May 6, 2020
Live stream workshop sessions from artists and volunteers homes March 21 though May 6 Artist Michele Brody took materials home mid-March and began her live stream sessions working on the costumes of Zero Waste – Daily and Spirit Wear, Carbon Sequestration, and SDG- Sustainable Development Goals, engaging participants remotely with Q and A on the process and opportunities for volunteers to participate and take elements of costumes to their homes and also live stream their work.
Artist-in-residence Lucrecia Novoa began workshops creating giant puppets representing Zero Waste, Carbon Sequestration and Climate-Water Solutions & Consequences February 29th from Earth Celebrations space at the Sixth Street Community Center and then transitioned mid-march to live stream session from home.
Live streams Started after March 18 through Pageant
Lucrecia Novoa – Ecological City Art & Climate Solutions Puppet Workshops
Saturday April 18
BIO-ARTS
For 2020 Ecological City featured bio-arts projects creating costumes from living and organic materials including growing a mycelium fungi headdress, kombucha leather vest from kombucha tea for the Zero Waste Costume-Daily Wear, and headdress and bustier made from seaweed for the Carbon Sequestration Costume.
Artist/Gardener Dee Dee Maucher (MOS Collective) leads Mycelium (Fungi) headdress and Kombucha leather Growing Workshops –
Dee Dee Maucher
Artist Kathy Creutzburg continues working on creating Seaweed Bustier, Mycelium headdress and Kombucha leather vest
Artist Katherine Freygang works remotely live streaming sessions painting the SDG Sustainable Development Goals Mobile Mural. The painting illustrates the UN global sustainable development goals and how they connect to local gardens and their climate solution initiatives on the Lower East Side. The Mobile Mural was originally intended to be carried in the procession and to be part of a ceremony with gardeners marking their solutions on the mural and their connected global SDG.
The workshops culminated in the ECOLOGICAL CITY – Art & Climate Solutions Virtual Pageant on Saturday May 9, 2020 with over 100 video contributions from artists, gardeners, organizations and residents presenting visual art, music, dance theater and poetry as wells virtual tours exploring local sites and their climate solution initiatives. See Ecological City Virtual Pageant here
