Natural World Museum

http://www.naturalworldmuseum.org
http://www.naturalworldmuseum.org/exhibitsevents_exhibits_upcoming.html
Natural World Museum
San Francisco, CA 94129 Telephone: (415) 402-0583
E-mail: info@naturalworldmuseum.org

Mia Hanak is the Founding Executive Director of the Natural World Museum, an organization committed to inspiring sustainable culture through the arts in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). She leads the team that produces the innovative Art for the Environment global exhibition series. She has been nominated by the American Association of Museums as a "Museum Leader for the Next Generation."

---

Moving Towards a Balanced Earth: Kick the (Carbon) Habit
World Environment Day 2008

For the 2008 World Environment Day, UNEP continues to explore and address the theme of climate change, with an emphasis on moving toward a low carbon economy. Background: The Earth maintains a natural carbon balance. Under normal conditions, the system gradually corrects imbalances and returns to a balanced state. However the rate at which humans are now burning fossil fuels, introducing excesses of carbon into the atmosphere, has surpassed Earth’s ability to maintain balance. As a result, the Earth’s climate has begun to experience massive change.

Nature strives for balance. Carbon balance is one part of nature’s process to maintain stases. Humans, collectively and individually, also strive for balance.

What does it mean to be in balance as individuals and communities? What is the connection between the Earth’s imbalance and our imbalance as a species? Can nature serve as a model and mentor for discovering a way of living in balance, for coming into a state of equilibrium? The excess of atmospheric carbon is just one symptom of our environmental problems; water and air pollution, toxic waste—all of these are also symptoms of imbalance. The symptoms are expressed on both planetary and personal levels. Other species may adapt or become extinct. How will humans adapt?

Participating Artists:
Susan Norrie – Australia
Alison Clouston – New Zealand, Shane Cotton – New Zealand, Bill Culbert and Ralph Hotere – New Zealand, Geoff Dixon – New Zealand,
Walangari Karntawarra – Australia, Ik-Joong Kang – Korea, Susan Norrie – Australia, Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba – Vietnam,

AES & F Group – Russia, Ken Aptekar – USA, Lise Bjorne – Norway, Lien Botha – South Africa, Antonio Briceno – Venezuela, Enrique Martinez Celaya – Cuba,

Chris Drury – UK, Mounir Fatmi – Morocco, Peter Fend – USA, Isa Genzken – Germany, Ilya & Emilia Kabakov – Russia, Walangari Karntawarra – Australia, Ik-Joong Kang – Korea, Gabriela Morawetz – Poland, Susan Norrie – Australia, Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba – Vietnam, Susan Plum – Mexico, Ken Rinaldo & Amy Youngs – USA, Alexis Rockman – USA, Harriet Russell – UK, Soledad Salame – Chile, Lars Siltberg – Sweden, Superflex – Denmark, Cyprien Tokoudagba – Benin, Bill Viola – USA

http://www.naturalworldmuseum.org/exhibitsevents.html
Envisioning Change: Melting Ice / A Hot Topic

Lucy + Jorge Orta, Fluvial Intervention Unit



Monaco Installation View

About the Exhibit:

For UN World Environment Day 2007, the Natural World Museum in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme produced an exhibition that addresses the theme of Climate Change from a global perspective - the melting and thawing of ice, snow and permafrost are environment-altering changes taking place around the world- from the Andes to the Himalayas to the melting ice caps of the Poles. "Change" the transition that occurs from same to different, the moment of transformation, a change of position or action. Change used in reference to our environment can describe the transformation of material substance -- from ice to water, liquid to gas - the changing conditions of our rivers, our rapidly melting glaciers,, and the overall changes in the earth's climate. Change requires organisms and organizations alike to adapt to new environmental conditions. Metaphorically, change can also refer to the transformation of society's mindset to act in a positive way individually and collectively to work toward a more sustainable future.

http://mediazone.brighttalk.com/comm/BrightTALK/282450b2c6-5286-1215-4919
Subhankar Banerjee – India, Ana Prvacki – Singapore, Ichi Ikeda – Japan,
David Trubridge - New Zealand; Yoshiaki Kaihatsu – Japan, David and Hi-Jin Hodge – US & Korea,

Subhankar Banerjee – India, Robert Bateman – Canada, Alfio Bonano – Denmark, David Buckland – UK, Christo & Jeanne-Claude – US, Margaret Cogswell – US, Sebastian Copeland – France, Xavier Cortada – US, Siobhan Davies – UK, Era and Don Farnsworth – US, Free Range Studio – US, Helen and Newton Harrison – US, Mona Hatoum – Lebanon, David and Hi-Jin Hodge – US & Korea, Gary Hume – UK, Laura Horelli – Finland, The Icelandic Love Corporation – Iceland, Ichi Ikeda – Japan, Sveln Flygari Johansen – Norway, Chris Jordan – US, Kahn Selesnick – England, Sant Khalsa – US, Fred Ivar Ultsi Klemetsen – Norway, Angela Lergo – Spain, Jonas Liveröd – Sweden, Dalibar Martinis – Croatia, Jacob McKean – US, Gilles Mingasson – France, David Nash – Wales, Lucy + Jorge Orta – England & Argentina, Sven Påhlsson – Norway, Shana and Robert Parke-Harrison – US, Cecilia Paredes – Peru, Andrea Polli – US, Ana Prvacki – Singapore, Anne Senstad – Norway, HM Queen Sonya of Norway, David Trubridge - New Zealand, Strijdom van der Merwe – South Africa, Theo Wujcik – US, Yoshiaki Kaihatsu – Japan, Justin Young – US.