7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Fran Beallor is an artist, arts educator and independent curator with a history of exhibiting her artwork and the work of others in NYC and beyond. For Beallor, community and giving back are vital. Giving artists a voice through her curation is at the core of her practice. Concern for the environment is also key to her. Several bodies of her own work address Climate. In 2019, as former co-president of the New York Artists Circle, she worked with fellow board members to create a digital gallery for online Curated Shows. In 2020 Beallor curated "Fragile Earth," one of the first online shows for the new site. Related 2023 curations include "The SEED: the spark that sets an art life in motion," at Art at First Gallery, NYC and "ref-u-gee," an online exhibition of Audrey Frank Anastasi’s forced migration series.

A former Artists Talk on Art Board member, Beallor has curated panel talks for ATOA, including one in conjunction with her current double curation for Hudson Guild. Two simultaneous exhibitions, "Our Fragile Moment: Artists respond to the Climate Crisis" at Hudson Guild Gallery at 441 W. 26th St and "Water's Voice: Artists' Perspectives on the Dire State of Our Aquatic Ecosystems" at Guild Gallery ll at 119 9th Ave will run through Earth Day, April 22, 2025.

Website: franbeallor.com

insta @franbeallor, FB franbeallor

Losing My Marble 2020, Oil on Board, 19.5 x 25.5 inches (from _Dead Horse Bay Landfill Trash_ series)

Michelle Lougee is a fiber artist and sculptor who explores material confusion by expressing observed parallels between plastic and our environment in artwork that addresses the impact of our consumerist society on nature. Often produced from post-consumer plastic that would otherwise find its way to a landfill, Lougee’s woven knotted forms and striking juxtapositions illustrate a framework of tension between material and concept, while contemplating profound problems in our culture and environment.

Michelle Lougee received a BFA and an MFA in Sculpture from Boston University College of Fine Arts. Her artwork has been recognized by numerous exhibitions, reviews, residencies, and grants. Recently her practice has expanded to include community based collaborative public art projects for Arlington, MA and MassAudubon with public art curator and activist Cecily Miller.

Lougee’s artwork has had solo exhibitions at the Wilson Museum, Simmons College, Merrimack College, and Great Bay Community College. She is represented by Boston Sculptors Gallery and exhibits in national and international venues. Her work is in the collections of Google, Framingham State University, MassAudubon Magazine Beach Nature Center, MediTech and AbiLabs. She teaches sculpture and fiber arts at Lesley University College of Art and Design. https://www.michellelougee.com/

Website: www.michellelougee.com

IG @michellelougee , Facebook: Michelle Lougee

Flotsam, 2020, 9_ x 6_ x 1_, post-consumer plastic

Nicole Cooper (American, 1983) lives and works as an artist in New York, NY. Her figurative oil paintings investigate the complex emotions surrounding climate change to create pathways toward connection, understanding, and action. Cooper holds a BFA from Kansas City Art Institute (Kansas City, MO) and has completed the Yale Norfolk School of Art Summer Residency with Yale University (Norfolk, CT). Her work and interview was featured in 2023 USA Today article "All talk and, yes, action. Could conversations about climate change be a solution?" Cooper is a trained Climate Cafe facilitator, curates with the Climate Imaginarium (Governors Island, NY), and is a New York Artists Circle member. Her work resides in private collections across the USA and Italy. Recent solo exhibitions include "Living Resonance" at Angad Arts Hotel (St. Louis, MO), "Pivotal” at Fontbonne University Fine Art Gallery (St. Louis, MO), and "Nicole Cooper: Interwoven" at the Schmidt Art Center (Belleville, IL). She has shown in group exhibitions in notable New York venues like Hudson Guild Gallery and Field Projects, and St. Louis, MO, venues Duane Reed Gallery, COCA Millstone Gallery, and Art St. Louis, and participated in Open Studios STL organized by the Contemporary Art Museum.

Website: https://www.nicolecooperartist.com

https://www.instagram.com/nicolecooperartist/

Resonations, Oil on Canvas, 40 x 30 inches, 2023

Nora Chavooshian’s work explores the vegetative network of mycelium and the renewability of algae, focusing on both the generative act of growing materials (as opposed to the destructive extraction from the earth), along with the elegant metaphors they offer. The material is integral to the message. Fungal systems and behavior exemplify symbiosis, connectivity and resilience which can inform the potential of radical human cooperation.

Nora’s mycelium sculptures such as MYCO ITERATION and KARAS are collaborations with living microorganisms which exemplify connectivity. This relationship with the material has prompted her to expand her artistic perspective, making room for the unique expressions of her silent collaborator.

The sculpture RUSH is cast in algae urethane. The image is a cascade of mycelial fungi teeming down a river-like channel in a celebratory rush. Mycelium filtration can purify contaminated water, filtering out heavy metals, pesticides, pathogens and mercury.

In a world increasingly out of balance, our western culture is beginning to understand the inherent lessons of mutualism, care, reciprocity and sustainability that these and other bio-materials offer.

Website: www.norachavooshian.com

@norachavooshian

Patricia Espinosa is a socially engaged multidisciplinary artist. Born and raised in Mexico, her work is deeply inspired by the vibrancy, passion, and contrasts of Mexican culture. Through sculpture, installation, drawing, and various media, she explores urgent social issues, inviting reflection and dialogue. She has exhibited both nationally and internationally, with notable shows including "Lotería: La Suerte Que Habla" at Casa de la Cultura–Puebla in Mexico, "The Emancipated Path" at El Clemente in New York, and “America’s Teddy Bear” at Ogden Contemporary Arts in Utah and Der Mixer Galerie in Frankfurt, Germany.

Patricia’s work has been featured in ArtNet News, New Visionary, Noticiero Telemundo, Buzzfeed, Journal Frankfurt, Leviatán, and Leonardo. Her art is part of the permanent collection of the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. Her public sculpture, “The Hourglass,” commissioned by the Art Students League's Works in Public program, is currently on display in Riverside Park, New York City.

In addition to her artistic practice, Patricia collaborates with non-profit organizations like Choose Creativity and Sing for Hope, using art as a tool to uplift and empower communities in need.

Website: www.patriciaespinosa.com

@espiarte

“Loteria_ La Suerte Que Habla” (Luck talks), watercolor, acrylic and ink on paper, 24x18 inches each.

Tammy West’s interdisciplinary work sits at the nexus of site-specific environmental art, installations, ecological earthworks, and photography exploring and addressing the solutions of social issues such as climate change, species decline and ecological restoration. Through her work, she strives to use emotion as the vehicle for connection to difficult social topics, striving to touch people’s hearts to help create change. She has been awarded artist residencies in, Iceland, Oregon, Connecticut, Ireland, and she works in her home landscape in Austin TX. Her work has been exhibited across the USA and internationally and in publications, including be on the cover of GAiA Ecological -Perspectives for Science and Society, a Transdisciplinary Journal in the EU, on a billboard in NYC, the South LA Contemporary, The Peninsula Museum of Art, Platform 3 Gallery in Tehran, Iran, and at the United Nations Climate talks in Germany, Santiago Chile and Alfortville, France, solo exhibits in Austin, Texas and she was awarded the first placed artwork included in the 5th USA National Climate Assessment and exhibited at the White House.

Website: https://tammyweststudios.com

@tammyweststudios instagram

Stay together” Playa Summer Lake Oregon USA- Materials- Yarn and nails, Size- 8’ in diameter 2019. The cracked earth is tied together with the yarn and nails conceptually keeping the soil together.

Jes Clark (they/them) is the farmer and weaver at Willow Vale Farm in Stanfordville, NY. Jes weaves traditional and contemporary functional pieces and the basket forms created are a result of their conversation with each stick of willow. All of their willow is grown without pesticides using regenerative practices and with loving care.

Jes has been teaching weaving since 2018 and has taught hundreds of students ranging from absolute beginners to experienced weavers looking to refine their craft. They have taught at the Stowe Basketry Festival, for the National Basketry Organization, at the New York Botanical Garden just to name a few, and also privately in one-on-one tutorials. Jes has woven a set of three baskets entitled ‘i am made to hold’ for Our Fragile Moment, an exhibition of artists to address the climate crisis. You can discover more of their work at instagram.com/willowvalefarm and www.willowvale.farm

Website : https://www.willowvale.farm/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willowvalefarm/

Moses Basket, 2021, 32 x 16 x 5, willow, created to replace an heirloom basket that was lost in a house fire

Kruger’s latest artwork focuses on the tragic losses of the 21st century, specifically the impacts of human-induced climate change and habitat fragmentation on bird extinction and indigenous culture.

The feathers in her environmental artwork are fabricated from recycled plastic hand silk-screened with images of endangered birds. These feathers are overprinted with text in endangered indigenous languages such as Yiddish, Ladino, and Tzotzil, whose last living speakers are in steep decline.

Using plastic feathers embeds a layered narrative that addresses the relentless consumption driving loss of bird and human habitat. Kruger’s decorative training at FIT in textile design is evident throughout her artwork.

Kruger’s recent exhibition highlights include La II Biennale Internazionale di Fiber Art Contemporánea at the Museo del Ricamo e del Tessile, Valtopina, Italy, 2024; Coined in the South: 2024 Biennial at the Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina; a solo exhibition at the Block Gallery in Raleigh, NC; and Finalist Exhibition of the Arte Laguna Prize, Venice, Italy, 2023. Her artwork is on loan to the U.S. Embassy in Turkmenistan as part of the Art in Embassies Program. Two of Kruger’s large-scale environmental artworks have been acquired by the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York City

Website: https://deborahkruger.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deborahkrugerstudios/

BLACK FEATHER TRIANGLE 1, 2025, 20.5 x 15 x 2_, hand screen-printing on recycled plastic, hand and machine sewing, wrapping, cording, waxed linen thread

M. Annenberg is a conceptual artist and independent curator. Her paintings, sculptures, installations and videos focus on under-reported stories in American media, concentrating on scientific studies and global warming.

When she was represented by Flomenhaft Gallery, she organized a panel there with Dr. Gavin Schmidt, Director of NASA, Goddard Institute for Space Studies, entitled, Art, Activism and Global Warming.

Annenberg’s recent artwork deconstructs the reporting of five major climate studies –The Emissions Gap Report, 2019, The National Climate Assessment, the Paris Climate Treaty, the UN’s 5th IPCC Report and the Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment

Annenberg's paintings are in the permanent collections of museums in Lithuania, Israel, England and the USA. The BBC included her artwork in the documentary, The Private Life of a Masterpiece: The Third of May.

Annenberg has organized six environmental exhibits including Petroleum Paradox, Denise Bibro Gallery, Earth SOS, Flomenhaft Gallery, Endangered Earth, Earth on the Edge, and Mayday! EAARTH, Dec. 2022, pop-ups at Ceres Gallery, NYC and now, Biophilia: In Excelsis at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, CT. Interviews with NASA scientists and environmental writers can be viewed on You Tube at m.annenberg.

Website: www.mannenberg.com

Instagram: @m.annenberg

“Artists on Climate Change”