Let the Music Play - A Summer of Environmental Performances in New York

Beacon is one of the most charming towns and an important culture center of the Hudson Valley that is home to KuBe Art Center, Dia Museum of Art and Howland Cultural Center, a hub for art, culture, and history that is, straight across the street from a waterfall.

Since June 10th, two climate activists, John Mark Rozendaal of Extinction Rebellion and Alec Connon, the executive director of Stop the Money Pipeline have been peacefully protesting Citibank’s financing of fossil fuels as part of the Summer of Heat on Wall Street campaign by playing  J.S Bach’s “Suites for Cello” in front of Citibank’s New York City Head Quarters located at Citi HQ, 388 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10013.  

John Mark, an accomplished cellist and a retired music adjunct professor of Princeton University is scheduled to perform, the “Suites for Cello” once again on August 8 at 11:00 am in front of Citibank’s HQ, unless if he is arrested for criminal contempt―which carries a maximum sentence of 7 years in jail¹.    

The Suites for Cello was selected by the Library of Congress in 2019 for preservation in the National Recording Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" that earned cellist Yo-Yo Ma  the 1985 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance and cellist János Starker the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance.

“I do not know what will happen when we challenge Citibank’s attempts to silence us. We may be arrested. We may go to jail. But I do know what will happen if people do not take a stand against the fossil fuel companies and the banks financing them,” said John Mark Rozendaal about his upcoming cello performance. 

Listening to or playing music shouldn’t lead to an arrest according to  the Center for International Environmental Law which explained that “The use of vague restraining orders to keep protesters away from Citi's New York headquarters represents a troubling effort to suppress these lawful demonstrations and mute advocacy for a just and sustainable world. Such measures not only threaten democratic freedoms and hinder crucial advocacy against environmental racism, but most importantly undermine efforts to challenge the financial underpinnings of the climate crisis.”

New York City Council member Sandy Nurse pointed out that “It’s alarming that Citibank is resorting to scare tactics to intimidate climate activists that are simply trying to get the bank to stop financing the fossil fuel industry that is killing our planet and polluting our communities. Citi should stop targeting activists and focus instead on ending its support for fossil fuels.”

Climate Financiers Don’t Like Hearing the Music

Turns out Citibank and Citi bankers --the world’s largest funder of new fossil fuel projects-- don’t like hearing the music. Citibank repeatedly refused to commit to end financing for new fossil fuels, even in light of the International Energy Agency’s recommendation that the bank immediately stop building new oil and gas projects to stop catastrophic climate change impacts.  

Instead, Citibank has used false allegations to obtain restraining orders that is intended to prevent climate activists from returning to Citibank’s HQ where they have been peacefully protesting Citi’s financing of fossil fuels regularly for the past two months. The executive directors and founders of 3 of 4 convening organizations behind the Summer of Heat campaign that have been arrested, include Jonathan Westin, the executive director of Climate Organizing Hub, Teddy Ogborn, a co-founder of Planet Over Profit, and, John Mark a core partner in the Summer of Heat campaign. But it is not only these executives that have been arrested. 450+ people, including faith leaders, scientists, elders, and parents have been arrested for engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience, urging Citibank to stop bankrolling new coal, oil, and gas. 

The global NGO ActionAid USA, a federation that works with 41 million people across 70 countries stated, “We urge Citibank to cease these oppressive measures and respect the rights of activists dedicated to nonviolent protest against the funding of the climate-destructive fossil fuel industry.”

Deborah Hart, Chair of CLIMARTE, who will participate in the Pink & Blue Art Show’s Climate Week NYC Event from Australia, said “Surely it would be easier for Citibank to redirect its ecocidal financing to socially and ecologically sustainable projects than to keep targeting caring people and communities defending the natural world all life depends on After all, the grave dangers associated with fossil fuels have been well understood since the 1960s.”

Pink & Blue Art Show at Howland Cultural Center, Beacon, NY

Another cultural event drawing attention to the environment that is opening two days after cellist John Mark performance is Pink & Blue Art Show at Howland Cultural Center Beacon, NY. The art show will take place from August 10 - September 29, 2024 and will run parallel to United Nations General Assembly meeting and Climate Week NYC which will be celebrated state wide for the first time this year.  

Beacon is one of the most charming towns and an important culture center of the Hudson Valley that is home to KuBe Art Center, Dia Museum of Art and Howland Cultural Center, a hub for art, culture, and history that is, straight across the street from a waterfall. Referred to as the Jewel of Beacon, Howland Cultural Center is located in the historic 1872 Richard Morris Hunt building that is landmarked and named to the National Register of Historic Places that is also energized by clean geothermal energy².

The Pink & Blue art show honors Folk singer and song writer Pete Seeger who is most associated with the Environmental movement in the Hudson Valley. Pete Seeger lived in Beacon, the highest point of the Hudson Valley and established an organization called Clearwater, which built a sloop that is free for the public to ride from Beacon to explore the beauty of the Hudson River. In 2004, the sloop Clearwater was named to the National Register of Historic Places for its groundbreaking role in the environmental movement and its dedication to the preservation of the Hudson River.

The art show will feature work by award winning Hudson Valley and international environmental photographers Ross Corsair, Zinnia Gutowski, Ian Hutton, Mene Liondos, Jim Richards, Alfons Rodriguez (COP28), and painters Semine Hazar (COP26), Fatma Kadir (COP26, 28), Mehmet Kuran (COP26, 28), Selva Ozelli (COP26, 27, 28), Ilhan Sayin (COP26, 28) who have exhibited at museums, United Nations Environmental & Climate Change Conferences (COP 26-28) around the world. 

Undoubtedly, pink sunsets might look lovely especially when eternally captured in photographs, and art work. But the pink hue in the skies show the presence of pollutants in the air. Pollutants such as smoke, CO2 and haze can scatter the shorter, red wavelengths of light, giving the sky a pink or reddish color. Hudson Valley photographers Ross Corsair and Jim Richards marvelously capture the pink and blue sunsets of the Hudson River. While Photographer and Naturalist Ian Hutton brings us the radiant sunsets of UNESCO Heritage Site Lord Howe Island of Australia and photographer Mene Liondos presents the sunsets of the Evros river, which witnessed the 2023 Evros wildfires, the largest ever recorded in the EU, that raged for more than a fortnight and destroyed 96,600 hectares (239,000 acres) of forests, including a national park.

Species impacted by polluted air, global warming, wild fires are numerous and include birds according to a United States Department of Agriculture Report³. Hudson Valley photographer Zinnia Gutowski, Ian Hutton, Spanish photographer Alfons Rodriguez and oil artist Fatma Kadir draw our attention to the impact of climate change on water birds with their work.

Pete Seeger with his popular folk song “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" and a recent study reminds us that nearly half of the world’s known flowering plants and butterflies face a wide range of threats including habitat loss and climate change.

Hudson Valley oil artist me, oil artist Ilhan Sayin and ink artist Mehmet Kuran with our art work draw attention to the impact of climate change on flowers, butterflies and biodiversity.

The ocean acts as a “carbon sink” and absorbs about 31% of the CO2 emissions released into the atmosphere according to a study published by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and international partners. Lighthouse oil artist Semine Hazar got her inspiration for her “Sea Watcher” series based on the NOAA findings that “More than 90% of the warming that has happened on Earth over the past 50 years has occurred in the ocean.” Oceans are warming at the same rate as if five Hiroshima bombs were being dropped into them every second. This has contributed to the rise of sea levels from the melting of ice sheets in the Arctic, which is also warming faster than the rest of the world. Photographer Alfons Rodriguez with his Melting Age Series of photography and film captures the impacts of climate change in 7 continents and 30 countries.

During the duration of the six week Pink & Blue Art Show there will be two events I hope you can attend:

Opening Event on Aug 10 1-3 pm will feature a musical performance of Pete Seeger’s “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” followed by speakers: the Mayor of Beacon Mr. Lee Kyriacou, The Executive Director of the Clearwater Foundation Mr. David Toman, Cultural Documentarian Karen  Michel of the “What Matters” Project and artists of Pink and Blue Art Show me, Zinnia Gutowski, Fatma Kadir and Jim Richards.

Climate Week NYC Event will feature speakers from Clearwater Foundation, other international environmental and art institutions including but not limited to the world’s first climate change museum CUHK Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change Hong Kong.

Deborah Hart, Chair of CLIMARTE, who will participate in the Pink & Blue Art Show’s Climate Week NYC Event from Australia, said, “The powerful artwork in the Pink and Blue Art Show helps us connect with our deep feelings about what’s really at stake from the Climate Emergency. And invites us to consider all means available to hold those most responsible for it - dating back to the 1960s - to account, as they’re now doubling down spreading yet more disinformation to maintain their ‘business as usual’ (obscene) profits.”

Pink & Blue Art Show at Howland Cultural Center - Opening Aug 10

1. www.summerofheat.org/cello

2. www.howlandculturalcenter.org

3. www.fs.usda.gov/ccrc/topics/effects-climate-change-terrestrial-birds-north-america