MIND THE EARTH @ UN Headquarter, New York
Exhibition period: 17.10 – 2.12 2019
Number of visitors: + 150.000
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has made climate change and climate action among the key priorities at this year’s General Assembly. Recognizing the importance of accelerating international climate action and increasing the level of ambition, a newly developed MIND THE EARTH exhibition was exhibited from October 17 to December 2 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
“Climate change is moving faster than our efforts to address it.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres
“MIND THE EARTH Climate Change – Climate Action,” was exhibited shortly after the High-Level Week under the General Assembly, in an effort to prolong and deepen dialogues on climate action. The exhibition had 150,000 visitors in the six weeks it was on display.
The exhibition consists of satellite images which create new perspectives on the global challenges facing our planet in the face of ongoing climate change. The exhibition’s pictures and accompanying texts focus on the challenges, dilemmas, and international best practices in order to accelerate and influence the debates we need to initiate on all levels of society regarding the way we use the planet’s finite resources.
The exhibition has been conceived by the Danish artist Kasper Brejnholt Bak. Brejnholt Bak was educated at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen specializing in urban planning. He has more than 15 years of experience as an urban planner with sustainable urban development projects in more than 10 countries. Working on major urban planning projects, he was fascinated by Google Earth as a tool to understand and analyze the ways in which we settle and use the planet’s resources.
Since launching the first MIND THE EARTH exhibition at the Danish Architecture Center four years ago, Kasper has developed six international exhibitions with various collaborators and more than 200.000 visitors internationally, and he saw UN Headquarters as a unique possibility:
“When you are passionate about disseminating knowledge about climate change, it is absolutely fantastic to have the opportunity to exhibit at the United Nations in New York. With high level representatives and a broad range of visitors encountering the exhibition, it is my hope that many of the visitors will be able to find inspiration for climate action on both political and individual levels.”
The exhibition is developed by MIND THE EARTH, in collaboration with the Advisory Board of MIND THE EARTH, the Danish Architecture Center, CONCITO and World’s Best News. The exhibition has been made possible through financial support from The Danish Arts Foundation, Dreyers Foundation, Ramboll and Minister Erna Hamiltons endowment for Sciences and Arts. The Permanent Danish Mission to the UN in New York and the Danish Consulate General in New York has supported the realization of the exhibition.