On Saturday, April 20, The New School’s Climate Justice Club held its second annual Earth Day Art Show on the 2nd floor of 39 West 13 Street. Students’ artwork was displayed throughout the space, featuring a mix of interactive exhibitions on tables next to hung dyed tapestries and mixes of digital and traditional art, blending creativity with nature.

Intending to build community and raise awareness for sustainability within art and climate justice, submissions were open to all New School students. Outside the building, a chalk drawing spelling out “Earth Day Art Show” led visitors to the second floor, where they were greeted with a curtain of paper leaves, inviting guests to set intentions on what they wanted to learn or see in the show. The club also handed out crossword puzzles for guests to solve as they moved through the space. 

This marks the second annual art show hosted by the Climate Justice Club on Earth Day. With some experience under their belt, the club created a show that focuses on their ideals and the hope for climate justice at The New School. Originally, the club was inspired by an organization called Bioneers, said Marikit Mayeno, past club president and graduate of Eugene Lang. Bioneers include members of all different backgrounds who connect for environmental justice; “I really hooked on to that concept and brought that to The New School—or hopefully I did,” she said, laughing. Mayeno attended the event, displaying two of their art prints in the gallery. Now, Saina Siri, a sophomore at Parsons studying product design, is the president of the Climate Justice Club and organizer of this year’s art show. 

Past the leaf curtain, visitors were greeted with a table full of free succulents to take home. Two more tables followed the free succulents. The first-held ethically made scrunchies and earrings for sale made by student Aanya Sachdeva, with 100% of the proceeds going to cancer research. The next table was covered with watercolor paintings, plants, and pots — an interactive exhibit by Climate Justice Club Vice President Ann Gui, a Parsons fine arts student. The piece, “keep me alive, please,” was “an effort to bring plants into people’s homes and get them touching soil and trying to take care of the plant,” Gui said. Guests were invited to pot a plant, which included sage, ivy, and rosemary, and Gui stood by, offering tips and tricks for taking care of the plants. 

Other art at the exhibition included recycled eggshells-turned-plates, tapestries woven with natural dyes and fibers, paper made out of mushrooms, collages about climate change, and multi/mixed media pieces, including a woman made out of clay, set so moss could grow on the sculpture. Many attendees were New School students, but some families attended, pulled in by the chalk lettering on the street. The art show went hand in hand with a crossword puzzle, “so people get to really see the work, read the [artist] statements, and look into the base,” Siri said. “We wanted to have people read because I feel a lot of times with shows, you walk past it, but now you have an incentive to read it.” 

“I think a lot of this show is that we kind of wanted to bring the community together because in The New School, everyone’s in different majors,” Siri added. “It’s hard to find like a common area. And clearly, a lot of students have a lot to say. So this is kind of the way to bring them together.” At the show, artists mingled with peers, as everyone was excited to celebrate Earth Day and show their support for a healthy climate and the Climate Justice Club. 

“Touch some grass. Put your hand in the dirt,” said Luka Marrun, a student whose art was on display while potting a plant at Gui’s exhibit. “Doesn’t matter if you get dirt under your fingernails. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what we were born to do.”