MISSION:
Center BIPOC artists in global climate conversations.
Climate Week NYC is an event that takes place every year during the UN General Assembly, bringing together international leaders to showcase global climate action. The Center for Cultural Power, a 501(c)3 organization that supports artists in pursuit of social justice, needed bold and aligned actions to make their mark in a very crowded space.
Culture is the most powerful tool we have to address many issues, but it is often overlooked, especially on climate. At the center of this campaign, we mounted a wildly successful demonstration of experiential awareness-building in action. We disrupted the hushed tenor of The Nest conference for five full days with raw beauty, shameless emotion, and the undeniable power of art. As a result, some of climate’s most powerful thought leaders, C-Suite executives, and journalists directly experienced some often ignored aspects of the climate conversation, including: grief, wonder, our primal need for nurturing, and our misguided relation of Nature,
Artist Sonja John titles the power mural by hand during a joyful dedication ceremony, a distinctive event in the center of the conference schedule.
Banner graphic for central placement near the key conference registration queue. We developed the narrative, communications strategy and hashtags specifically for The Nest audience.
An early creative concept rendering for the mural.
We strategized with Nest organizers to book CCP's President on a relevant, lively, and populated by other prominent thought leaders and attractively placed on the conference schedule.
We utilized the Power Mural Dedication party to promote the activation and amplify our messaging to press, the broader Climate Week audience, and New Yorkers in general. Media coverage included interviews and social media lives during the event.
Live horns heralded the start of the dedication ceremony and reception for the entire Nest campus. Another bright moment cementing the place of art and artists in the climate conversation. (And quite disruptive in an otherwise corporate environment!)
Nest attendees enjoying a catered lunch during the dedication reception.
Bandleader, Angeleisha Rodgers, is a brilliant musician and one of 2 dozen artists employed for this campaign, a core value for our client.
The Center for Cultural Power is a women of color, artist-led organization, inspiring artists and culture makers to imagine a world where power is distributed equitably and where we live in harmony with nature.
Our activation was located in a prime traffic area, directly in front of the cafe where almost all attendees sought coffee, lunch, and meetings.
After The Nest conference, we moved the Power Mural at the theater, If Not Us Than Who, gathered indigenous and other activists of color.
We worked with conference organizers to place two CCP executives on two key panels.
We worked with CCP C-Suite executive to reframe and strategize a more daring and memorable presentation on a conference panel.
The Next Conference partner wall located in the main lobby.
What we urgently need in our climate movement is to be able to imagine solutions and see ourselves in a different kind of relationship to Nature.
- Favianna Rodriguez, Artist / Climate Activist, Founder, The Center for Cultural Power.