“Coal + Ice” originally began as a documentary photography exhibition in Beijing in 2011. Since then, the show, co-curated by photographer Susan Meiselas and exhibition designer Jeroen de Vries, has been on display in Shanghai, other parts of China and Paris. Each time, it changes to fit the space it occupies. The iteration coming to San Francisco, however, is the most expansive yet — and the first in the United States. The exhibition itself takes up an entire warehouse on San Francisco’s waterfront at the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture. There are large-scale photographs and videos of melting ice, Chinese coal miners and victims of climate-change-induced flooding.

But that’s just the beginning.

Along with “Coal + Ice,” the Asia Society, led by Orville Schell, has curated three weeks of events to get the public talking about climate change in accessible ways. The photography show and the events run through Sept. 23.

Full article by Ryan Host in the San Francisco Chronicle.

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SAN FRANCISCO – COAL + ICE made its U.S. debut yesterday at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture and will run until September 23. Following successful showings across China and Paris, COAL + ICE has transformed Fort Mason into a 50,000 square‐foot immersive documentary photography and video exhibition ahead of California Governor Jerry Brown’s Global Climate Action Summit.

Free and open to the public, COAL + ICE visually traces the trajectory of climate change — from coal mines and the burning of fossil fuels to the melting Himalayan glaciers, rising sea level and extreme weather events — bringing the environmental and human costs of man‐made climate change to life through images, videos and thought‐provoking events.

“To tackle climate change we need to be bold, innovative and inclusive. This is the driving force behind COAL + ICE and our journey from Beijing in 2011 to San Francisco in 2018,” said Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S. China Relations at the Asia Society and Executive Producer of COAL + ICE. “The interdependence of the U.S. and China is at the heart of this exhibition, and crucial to understanding how global cooperation is needed to harness sustainable solutions. As we open in the U.S. for the first time, we’ve brought together artists, activists, scientists, poets, musicians and policy experts to offer new perspectives and avenues of engagement to spark insight and activism.”

Co‐curated by renowned artist Susan Meiselas and designer Jeroen de Vries, COAL + ICE features the works of more than 40 international photographers and video artists who collectively illuminate the trajectory of climate change. Photographers include American mountaineer and filmmaker David Breashears, Chinese photographers Geng Yunsheng and Song Chao, as well as recent work by Gideon Mendel, Kadir van Lohuizen, Nichole Sobecki and Matt Black, among others. The exhibition also features a new work by multimedia artist Clifford Ross, Light Waves II, comprising two 18 x 18 foot LED walls.

The exhibition ends with reasons to be hopeful, culminating in an interactive solutions zone designed by the Humans of Tomorrow, a team from the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University. Attendees can exhale onto algae that “breathes” carbon dioxide, view stunning aerial images of clean energy projects in California, and learn about futuristic climate solutions.

Acclaimed vegetarian restaurant Greens also offers a rare pop‐up at COAL + ICE. A steward of sustainability, Greens will serve a cafe‐style menu using the best ingredients from Green Gulch Farm and other local farmers. Over the next few weeks, thousands of attendees are expected to visit the exhibition and attend special events with luminaries within the space and throughout the city.

Events include:

● Spotlight on Climate Solutions: Dialogues on climate solutions featuring former Vice President Al Gore, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, UC Berkeley’s Dr. Laura Tyson and former Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd.

● COAL + ICE at the San Francisco Symphony: Renowned pianist Yuja Wang joins the San Francisco Symphony and vocalist Abigail Washburn in Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand enhanced by projections from the COAL + ICE exhibition.

● Youth v. Climate: An Intergenerational Event: An inspiring afternoon of dialogue with young leaders fighting for the planet. Additionally, 8‐year‐old science podcaster Nate Butkus interviews famous oceanographer Sylvia Earle and explorer Captain Don Walsh.

● Climate Comedy Night: Beloved Bay Area satirist Will Durst and friends Diane Amos, Nato Green, and Johnny Steele share perspectives on climate change in an evening of stand up and storytelling. Tickets are free, but donations will be collected for those displaced by the recent Carr Fire in Redding, California.

● Mozart and the Angry Oceans: Director Peter Sellars and rising star Ying Fang explore the layers of meaning of Mozart’s Idomeneo in this late‐night musical working session.

● Youth Speaks: Nationally acclaimed young poets will perform their original spoken word pieces on the theme of climate change at a one‐night only performance.

● The Fire Tapes: A Special Storytelling Event from Snap Judgment and KQED: Survivors and first responders of the October 2017 firestorm, one of the most destructive fires in California’s history, share their stories and explore the environmental conditions that made it so deadly.

For a full listing of events, visit coalandice.org.

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About The COAL + ICE Project

The COAL + ICE Project is a three‐week documentary photography and video exhibition and series of cultural events taking place at San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture September 4‐23, 2018. COAL + ICE illuminates the trajectory of climate change and amplifies the discussion about solutions. COAL + ICE is a project of the Asia Society’s Center on U.S.‐China Relations in collaboration with Asia Society Northern California. COAL + ICE was first developed as a documentary photography exhibition for Three Shadows Photography Art Center in Beijing in 2011 and has been shown across China and in Paris at the U.S. Ambassador’s Residence during COP21.

About Asia Society

Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller 3rd, Asia Society is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works to address a range of challenges facing Asia and the rest of the world. Asia Society has cultural centers and public buildings in New York, Hong Kong, and Houston, and offices in Los Angeles, Manila, Mumbai, Tokyo, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Washington, D.C., and Zurich. Across the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, Asia Society provides insight, generates ideas, and promotes collaboration between Asia and the world.
Lead support for COAL + ICE is provided by Crankstart Foundation and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Major support is provided by Mountain Philanthropy Partners, Blum Family Foundation, C Team, John Andrew McQuown, Parnassus Investments, Southern California Edison, Jack and Susy Wadsworth, Vanke Foundation, and Anonymous.

The post COAL + ICE, Immersive Climate‐themed Photo and Video Exhibition and Events Series, Opens in San Francisco appeared first on COAL + ICE.

“Let’s go to China,” he said. “Let’s see what we can find by way of photography that documents the cause of this problem.”

That was the start of “Coal + Ice,” an immersive and overpowering documentary photography and video exhibition that has been around the world en route to its American premiere Wednesday, Sept. 5, at the Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture.

Full article by Sam Whiting in the San Francisco Chronicle.

The post San Francisco Chronicle – The creation of ‘Coal + Ice’: Orville Schell brings multimedia event to SF appeared first on COAL + ICE.

Photography and video exhibition visually narrates global consequences of continued use of fossil fuels and explore visionary solutions.

San Francisco, CA – The COAL + ICE Project comes to San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture September 4-23, 2018. This project explores the complex consequences of climate change through documentary photography and video. The project also includes a three-week climate festival of music, dance, spoken word, food, family activities, films, educational programming, and creative dialogue that invites diverse audiences to participate in a conversation about climate change. The COAL + ICE Project is presented by Asia Society and will be open during Governor Jerry Brown’s Global Climate Action Summit.

The exhibition will be installed in the 50,000 square foot Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason, overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. Through immersive documentary photography and video installations, the COAL + ICE exhibition illuminates the trajectory of climate change, from dirty coal mines deep within the Earth to the vanishing glaciers of the Greater Himalaya. The exhibition is co-curated by two world-renowned artists, Susan Meiselas and Jeroen de Vries, who have brought together the work of over 40 photographers and video artists from around the world, including Chinese photographers Geng Yunsheng and Song Chao, American mountaineer and filmmaker David Breashears, and Kenya-based photographer Nichole Sobecki. COAL + ICE also features a large-scale installation of multi-media artist Clifford Ross’ Digital Waves on a huge LED wall. The exhibition vividly presents the global consequences of climate change, from sea level rise to intensifying storms, and culminates in an interactive Solutions Zone that provides the opportunity for attendees to learn more about climate solutions and make a personal action pledge.

“The arresting work of COAL + ICE transforms the complex issue of climate change into an immersive experience so we can all feel greater urgency to find global climate solutions,” said Meiselas, Magnum Foundation president and photographer. “Through photographs and digital projections, the exhibition hopes to give greater presence to the consequences of climate change through both a global and local lens. We are imagining a space, both physical and psychological, to create a platform for a critical community dialogue, bringing together perspectives from artists, scientists, activists and entrepreneurs.”

The COAL + ICE climate festival will present a three-week series of cultural events featuring unlikely collaborators using creative mediums to express the challenge we all face with global climate change. As the U.S. federal government steps back from international efforts to combat climate change, COAL + ICE seeks to call attention to the perils of inaction and spark a vision of the way forward by bringing into the fold prominent artistic, literary, environmental, business, and state, regional, and local political figures.

“If there is to be any hope in stemming the tide of global climate change, the U.S. and China—the world’s leading carbon emitters—need to find ways to come together and collaborate,” said Orville Schell, executive producer of The COAL + ICE Project and Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at the Asia Society. “By holding COAL + ICE for three weeks around the Governor’s Global Climate Action Summit, we hope to show the world that regardless of what’s happening at the federal level, states and cities are forging ahead and California can serve as a model for creative international engagement in the climate space. We plan to do this by bringing together not just government officials and policy specialists, but scientists, artists, musicians, business leaders and even restaurateurs to remind the world that we all have a stake in this challenge.”

The COAL + ICE Project is building partnerships with local and international arts organizations, universities, corporations, and environmental NGOs. Acclaimed chef and activist Alice Waters will partner with COAL + ICE to host a private dinner inside the exhibition space for approximately 500 attendees of the Governor’s Climate Summit. The international leaders and partners who tour the exhibition will experience a clear and visual reminder of the perils of climate change, as well as the hope found in creative solutions.

“When people know about the alarming consequences of global warming, they find ways to take action, and COAL + ICE will help Californians make that connection,” said Waters. “We want to connect the dots between the food system and climate change. Food is one of the best solutions, because it’s a delicious one.”

Programming partners include The San Francisco Symphony, Youth Speaks, San Francisco Green Film Festival, San Francisco Film Society, Snap Judgment, #reframeclimate—a collaboration with the Magnum Foundation and Dysturb—and many others. Additional partners will be announced soon.

For more information about The COAL + ICE Project, including a full list of participating photographers, please visit coalandice.org.

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About The COAL+ICE Project

The COAL + ICE Project is a three-week documentary photography and video exhibition, and a series of cultural events taking place at San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture September 4-23, 2018. COAL + ICE illuminates the trajectory of climate change and amplifies the discussion about solutions. COAL + ICE is a project of the Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations in collaboration with Asia Society Northern California. COAL + ICE was first developed as a documentary photography exhibition for Three Shadows Photography Art Center in Beijing in 2011, and has shown across China and in Paris at the U.S. Ambassador’s Residence during COP21.

About Asia Society

Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller 3rd, Asia Society is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works to address a range of challenges facing Asia and the rest of the world. Asia Society has cultural centers and public buildings in New York, Hong Kong, and Houston, and offices in Los Angeles, Manila, Mumbai, Tokyo, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Washington, D.C., and Zurich. Across the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, Asia Society provides insight, generates ideas, and promotes collaboration between Asia and the world.

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