Celebrate Earth Month with The New School
Earth Month at The New School is dedicated to championing environmental justice, inspiring activism through artistic expression and design, and promoting sustainable practices. Since April 22, 1970, Earth Day has mobilized people worldwide for a day of action intended to spark local, national, and global change around pollution, climate change, and environmental and social justice. We hope you will join us throughout April for a series of events featuring filmmakers, farmers, architects, designers, and many others that will help us think of creative and engaging ways to get closer to a more just world.
Earth Month is presented by The New School’s Tishman Environment and Design Center; Healthy Materials Lab at Parsons School of Design; Robert L. Heilbroner Center for Capitalism Studies at The New School for Social Research; and the Schools of Public Engagement’s School of Media Studies, Food Studies, and Environmental Studies Program.
To find additional exciting events and opportunities taking place this Earth Week, please check the 2023 Earth Month Hub, as more events will be added throughout the month of April.
An Integrated Approach to Material Health in Affordable Housing
Wednesday, April 5, 2023, 12:00PM to 1:30PM (EDT)
Online
Materials are the fabric of our built environment, and awareness around healthy materials continues to grow within the architectural field, product manufacturing industry, and the general public. Environmental health research has shown that building materials can often contain chemicals known or suspected to be hazardous to human and ecological health, and designers have the potential to make an impact on material health outcomes.
Join us for a discussion with practitioners from Mithun, winner of the 2023 AIA Architecture Firm Award, to learn about opportunities to further the use and prioritization of healthy materials in affordable housing. These designers will share their firm’s interdisciplinary approach to design for health, and strategies for implementation and overcoming barriers.
The Blue Commons Rescuing the Economy of the Sea: Guy Standing
Wednesday, April 12, 2023, 4:00PM to 6:00PM (EDT)
Wolff Conference Room
6 East 16th Street, New York, NY 10011
Join us for an afternoon with Guy Standing, Professorial Research Associate at SOAS University of London, as he discusses his new book, The Blue Commons: Rescuing the Economy of the Sea.
Around 70 percent of the earth’s surface is covered by oceans, and nearly 40% of the world’s population live in coastal communities and depend on resources from the ocean. However, since the twentieth century, governments and corporations around the world have pushed a flawed concept of ‘blue growth’ that is destroying fish populations and plundering vital ocean ecosystems.The Blue Commons peels back the veil of the boundless exploitation and inherent criminality in the ocean economy. Understanding the scale of this challenge, Standing advocates for a transformative alternative, a “blue commons” that would dismantle rentier capitalism, and prioritize the health of the oceans.
“And the Worlds that Surround” Film Screening
Tuesday, April 18, 2023, 6:30PM to 8:30PM (EDT)
63 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10011
For American architect and filmmaker Eric Franklin Romeo, better understanding the nuances of the environments that surround us has always served as a primer to designing within it. Over the last five years, he has been observing the forgotten and underestimated areas of New York City through the lens of film.Join us for a screening of Romeo’s new documentary, And the Worlds That Surround, featuring a live performance of American composer Fritz Myers’s score by cellist Evelyn Wadkins and violinist Andie Tanning. Combining striking visuals with experimental sound design, the movie uses compelling interviews and captivating musical compositions to create a journey into a world within the world’s greatest city, highlighting the impact that urban development has had on the natural environment.
“Rhythms of the Land” Film Preview
Thursday, April 20, 2023, 6:00PM to 8:00PM (EDT)
65 West 11th Street, New York, NY 10011
Rhythms of the Land is a valentine to the generations of Black farmers in the United States—from the enslavement period to the present—whose love of the land and dedication to community enabled them to survive against overwhelming odds. While in 1920, there were more than 920,000 Black families farming in the U.S. (often sharecroppers and tenant farmers), today those numbers have dwindled to just over 48,697 Black families due to systemic racial discrimination and social injustice.Featuring interviews conducted by director and co-founder of Farms to Grow, Gail P. Myers, with over 30 Black farmers, sharecroppers, and gardeners, many aged 90, Rhythms of the Land fills the gap of the missing narrative after emancipation and honors black farmers as stewards of the land. Join us for a screening of this documentary followed by a conversation with the film’s director Dr. Gail P. Myers and a panel discussion featuring farmers, chefs, food systems activists and scholars.
Doc Talks: Bugs, Beasts, and other Bodies with Alexis Kyle Mitchell
Tuesday, April 25, 2023, 5:00PM to 7:30PM (EDT)
Kellen Auditorium
66 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10011
Join us for an evening with Alexis Kyle Mitchell to discuss her films, Bugs & Beasts before the Law, Special Works School, and The Treasury of Human Inheritance.Bugs & Beasts before the Law explores the medieval practice of putting animals on trial, an aspect of colonial law-making that forged political and sometimes profane relationships between humans and animals. Special Works School investigates the connections between artistic practice and surveillance technologies. Mitchell will also present her current film-in-progress, The Treasury of Human Inheritance, about a rare neuromuscular genetic disease that runs in her family.
Energy & Equity Talks: Climate Technology
Tuesday, April 25, 2023, 6:00PM to 7:45PM (EDT)
Online
Join the Tishman Center and the NYC 2030 District for a talk about the hows and whys of energy and equity in the New York City area. This event will feature speakers with expertise on technology that is designed to help people contest the climate crisis and how we can make sure these technologies are accessible to all.