Artists, climate experts unite in Street Works Earth event in Queens Sept  22  

Inaugural street arts festival, Street Works Earth, will debut on 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens, on September 22, 2024.

The all-day outdoor event is dedicated to weaving environment and climate change action into art and community engagement in support for climate and environmental justice during the 2024 New York Climate Week.

Artists will present creative work alongside spaces dedicated to concrete climate actions.

Open to the public at no cost, the festival will run from 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

“By creating joyful spaces in which residents can participate in creativity while exploring climate justice, they can take action in ways that fit their priorities,” shares Street Works Earth co-founder and Jackson Heights, Queens resident, Anjali Deshmukh.

The festival will take place in Jackson Heights, an approximately 85% BIPOC community with over 150 languages spoken. It is a microcosm of global communities that are currently bearing the brunt of climate change.

An open call for proposals garnered over 100 entries. Eight artists and collectives were invited to participate alongside Make Justice Normal arts practitioners in creating site specific works. Invited artists include: All Street Gallery, Kaleidospace, Cecilia Lim, Nitin Mukul, Bayeté Ross Smith, Sabina Sethi Unni, The Veggie Nuggets, and Jing (Ellen) Xu. From the youth-led climate collective, The Veggie Nuggets, to the art and performance collective, Kaleidospace, to visual art sensation, Bayeté Ross Smith, the selected artists will present works encompassing a variety of media and creative disciplines.

Cecilia Lim is a Filipino American artist and community organizer from Queens. She is an advocate for integrating art with community-based work to bring about social change.

“Like Make Justice Normal, I believe creative experiences can spark shifts in thought and action toward justice for the most marginalized of us. I’m thrilled for a chance to make a collaborative and collective offer to the people and place of Jackson Heights as part of 2024 Street Work Earth,” she says in an artist statement.

Street Works Earth builds upon MJN’s organizing principles for justice and commitment to artistic collaboration. Artists are connected with climate experts, including team members of Environmental Defense Fund and Queens Climate Project, to foster dialogue among experts in disciplines that don’t often interact, such as climate and culture.

“There is so much that climate experts have to learn from artists and creators, and so many ways that we can enrich each other,” notes Jonathan Camuzeaux, senior director at Environmental Defense Fund and Street Works Earth advisor. “Working with artists to help illuminate both the social issues and solutions helps get our message across to new audiences in a unique way.”

Street Works Earth is organized by Make Justice Normal, in partnership with 34th Ave Open Streets Coalition, and supported by the Environmental Defense Fund, the Frontline Resources Institute, NYC Racial Equity Endowment Fund, and Queens Climate Project. In addition, public funds from the Queens Arts Fund, a re-grant program supported by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by New York Foundation for the Arts also helped to make this event possible.

“By reclaiming public space as a platform for creativity in collaboration with audiences, we are offering alternatives to traditional forms of art and activism,” says Street Works Earth co-founder Ernest Verrett.

Participants can join in the conversation and spread the buzz using the hashtags  #StreetWorks #StreetWorksEarth and #MakeJusticeNormal. Folks will use the same hashtag on the day of the event, September 22, to share their experiences.