Earth Celebrations
Engaging Communities to Generate Ecological and Social Change through the Arts

ABOUT EARTH CELEBRATIONS

 

 

Earth Celebrations was founded as a non-profit 501(c)3 organization on the Lower East Side of New York City in 1991, by artist Felicia Young, to engage communities to generate ecological and social change through the arts. For over 30 years our programs have applied the arts to build community, collaboration and action on climate change, water quality, river restoration, waste management, and the preservation of species, habitats, nature, gardens, parks, and a healthy urban environment. Earth Celebrations innovative cultural and environmental action projects, provide a vital creative and collaborative platform for residents, artists, and organizations to address and amplify issues, and develop solutions to environmental and climate challenges impacting the neighborhood. Earth Celebrations builds broad-based coalitions and diverse sector partnerships with local organizations, academic institutions, government agencies, schools and community residents, to work together to achieve common goals and ecological, policy and social change.

EARTH CELEBRATIONS PROGRAMS:

  • Impact issues including: climate change, water quality, river restoration, waste management, and the preservation of species, habitats, nature, parks, gardens, and a healthy urban environment.
  • Cultivate the inspirational power of the arts to engage and mobilize communities to take action on environmental issues and climate solutions.
  • Build broad-base coalition efforts bringing together organizations, academic and cultural institutions, municipalities, government officials, schools, community centers, neighborhood associations artists, and local residents to work together creatively for common goals
  • Develop strategic and creative diverse sector partnerships
  • Promote and implement sustainable methods and practices
  • Engage participants to deepen their connection to nature within the urban environment, learn about and communicate climate issues and local solutions, and through public action and cultural expression advocate for change

Creative Climate Actions | Ecological Art, Performance, Pageants/Processions, Festivals & Events | Public Cultural Action | Arts & Climate Solution Workshops | Ecological Artist Residencies | Youth Climate Leadership Internships | Educational Ecological Arts Curriculum Development | Art & Ecology Exhibitions | Film-Slideshow Screenings | Panel Discussions & Conferences | Environmental Advocacy Initiatives | Coalition-Partnership Building

LEARN MORE – PROGRAMS

Earth Celebrations’ over 30 years of collaborative arts, cultural organizing and creative placemaking projects

•  Save Our Gardens Project (1991-2005) that utilized the transformative power of the arts and a large-scale annual theatrical pageants to build a grassroots local and citywide garden preservation coalition effort that led to the preservation of hundreds of community gardens in New York City.

Hudson River Restoration Project (2009-2012) applied our creative model to engage community on climate impacts and restoration efforts of the Hudson River estuary and waterfront.

Vaigai River Restoration Project (2014-2015) applied our creative strategies in a global context with an international and citywide collaborative art project and theatrical pageant that mobilized an on-going effort in the city of Madurai, South India to restore the river, in a severe crisis due to pollution, waste dumping, and the drying effects of climate change. The project engaged Columbia University’s Department of Urban Studies and Architecture that established an exchange program bringing  students and professors to Madurai to collaborate on design plans for river restoration and waterfront.  The project led to the Mayor of Madurai and Governor of Tamil Nadu appointing an official panel for the restoration of the river, establishment of a Trust for the Vaigai River Restoration and recognition on a national level by the Smart Cities Council of India and commitment of 1 billion rupees for the Vaigai River Restoration Project implementation.

Ecological City – A Cultural & Climate Solutions Action Project, (2018-Present) applied Earth Celebrations’ collaborative arts strategies to engage community residents, youth and over 50 partner organizations, to co-create a theatrical pageant, to celebrate climate solutions and ecological sustainability initiatives to mitigate flooding, carbon pollution, runoff and climate impacts throughout the community gardens, neighborhood and waterfront on the Lower East Side of New York City. Through the collaborative arts project the community is engaged creatively to explore, bring together and publicly affirm their model urban sustainable ecosystem, and its importance to city and global climate challenges.
PARTNERSHIPS – Over 10,000 individuals, 200 community gardens and 100 organizations, schools and community centers participate in our programs annually.
PARTNERS – The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, The Hudson River Park Trust, Friends of Hudson River Park, Battery Parks City Parks Conservancy, Riverkeeper, Clearwater, Greenpeace, arts > World Financial Center, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Henry Street Settlement, Church Street School for Music and Art, NY Cares, Manhattan Youth, arth Celebrations in partnership with – LUNGS (Loisaida United Neighborhood Gardens – representing 48 Lower East Side Gardens), Two Bridges Neighborhood Council, Goles, LES Ready!, NYC Community Garden District, Elizabeth Street Garden, Moving for Life/Studio 55C, Green Map, 4th Street Block Association, Loisaida Inc. Center, Lower East Side Girls Club, Lower East Side Ecology, Solar One, Waterfront Alliance, East River Park Coalition, East River Alliance, University Settlement (PS63), The Earth School (PS364), Children’s Workshop School, Sixth Street Community Center, Arts Loisaida, East Village Community Coalition, Educational Alliance –  Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, Times Up, Mos Collective, Gaia Institute, Theater for the New York City, Global Water Dances, Infinite Movement, FABnyc, Hunter College-School of Community Organizing, Parsons/New School and New York University. Numerous groups and residents throughout the neighborhood are invited to join. LEARN MORE – PARTNERS
AWARDS – New York City Department of Cultural Affairs: Public Service Award, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council: Fund For Creative Communities Award, International Caucus/ UN Program Honor Roll Awardee- Artistic Activism, International Friends of Transformative Art Award, Threshold Foundation: Arts and Social Change.
PRESS – Earth Celebrations programs have received extensive media coverage in the New York Times, and a wide variety of local and international newspapers, magazines, books, academic papers, radio, television and film documentaries. LEARN MORE – PRESS
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