Third Coast Disrupted Exhibition

Help foster climate action

Little did we know when we brought 14 artists and scientists together last fall to launch a yearlong conversation about Chicago-area climate change impacts and solutions how much things would change in that year.

Covid 19 struck. And just like climate change, it has hit communities of color hardest. Protests erupted in Chicago and around the world, shining more light on inequity and injustice.

Tackling climate change is a part of working toward social justice.

Third Coast Disrupted: Artists + Scientists on Climate seeks to spur climate action by building awareness that climate change is happening here and now in the Chicago area, and by instilling hope. It is an exhibition of new artworks inspired by sustained artist-scientist dialogue.

Why art?

As a Third Coast Disrupted scientist said, “Climate change is a complex issue, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the science. Art cuts through complex data. It can help people better understand. It can invoke a feeling, provide hope and inspiration. It can connect people with a sense of purpose and move them to act.”

This interdisciplinary journey culminates soon. Third Coast Disrupted opens September 8, physically distanced, at the Glass Curtain Gallery of Columbia College Chicago. (Also to be available virtually.)

Preview the artworks in progress – from examinations of more frequent and severe rainstorms and flooding, to nature-based solutions to all that water, to a response to the 1995 Chicago Heat Wave, and more.

What’s happened:

• Key partners assembled
• Artists and scientists selected
• Kickoff artist-scientist retreat
• Four artist-scientist salons
• Artist concepts

What’s happening:

• Artworks in development

What’s ahead:

• Artwork installation
• Exhibition opening
• Exhibition programs, including talks by renowned climate scientist and communicator Dr. Katharine Hayhoe
• Exhibition catalogue
• More climate conversations
• Climate action

The impact of your gift

The most important climate action is talking about climate change, say climate scientists. Your gift will cultivate climate action by helping to fund the exhibition, whose conversation-starting artworks will prompt people to talk about climate change – leading to broader engagement and action.

Last year, crowdfunding helped convene the artists and scientists. (Thank you again to all who contributed!) These funds will provide the final resources needed for the exhibition.

Images: Excerpts from Chicago Rain, by Meredith Leich for Third Coast Disrupted and excerpt from Parts-per-million (planetary aspirations), by Andrew S. Yang for Third Coast Disrupted.