HighWaterLine

This is your city on climate change - any questions?

Sunday was the day to travel to the Brooklyn Bridge. I went right up to the bridge too. Below the line on the East side, from 14th to Brooklyn Bridge lay the FDR drive, a waste transfer station, a huge power station, a lot of river front parks, and of most concern, innumerable New York City Housing Authority complexes. Within these houses live (from what I saw) an incredible diverse and vibrant community. I have been working with Deborah Balk who is researching the impacts of climate change on coastal communities by looking at census data. She is investigating the economic, ethnic and ages of those along the coast. One of the fascinating aspects is how much NYC is a microcosm of the world. While in the US much of our coastal property is highly sought after and high value, in many parts of the world it is where the very poorest in the community live.

In the afternoon I was lucky enough to sit on a panel at CitySol with some of the fantastic artists who had done installations for the event (mine was the “offsite project”). The artists were The 62, Situ Studio, The Canary Project, Natalie Jeremijenko and Kate Zidar. We had the opportunity to discuss the power that art has in motivating awareness or action around climate change. We talked about the power of the visual message and the importance of engaging and empowering people. One thing that was brought up by Natalie was how artists can portray themselves within the discussion about climate change and how they are most useful. Her point (my interpretation of it) is that they are most valuale in raising questions. Not merely illustrating scientific data regarding climate change (which is in constant flux) but either acting as the questioner themselves (the artist) or providing the catalyst or tools for the viewer to ask questions.

Which got of to thinking about High Water Line (of course) and whether or not this was true for this project. Is it merely illustrating one potential climate scenario, or does it venture into the questioning role?

Perhaps the most obvious questions it raises are the most frequently echoed - what does this mean to me and what can I do about it? I think it also gets people to rethink their perception of climate change. Maybe to begin to look at and define their immediate environment in a different way. To reframe the global warming issue from a global one to a local one, with real, tangible actions.

Any other thoughts?