A platform for young artists to showcase their talent and drive action on the world’s most pressing issues.
THE ART & ARTISTS
Global Citizen has teamed up with student artists to create original pieces of art that highlight the correlation between climate change and extreme poverty.
Meet Srushti Basapuri
MASON GROSS SCHOOL OF THE ARTS, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
“Broken Promises” - Shifting weather patterns and extreme droughts cause crops and farms to fail, forcing people who rely on their land for sustenance to relocate. The result is broken lands and broken lives. These displaced people carry their homes on their back, maybe we can do our part and help them.
Black ink pen on paper | 24” x 18”
See more about Srushti's piece
Srushti Basapuri
Srushti Basapuri
Srushti Basapuri
Meet Nicole Ricci
Montclair State University
“The Bottleneck Effect” - The dichotomy between the upper-middle classes and low-income communities. This is how actions like agriculture, overconsumption, transportation, and construction trickle down and directly impact those in poverty. Despite contributing the least to climate change, people in poverty have been the most harshly impacted.
Digital illustration | 18” x 24”
Meet Doris M Doku
MASON GROSS SCHOOL OF THE ARTS, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
“But If Today is All I Had to Live, I’d Give It to You” - A raw moment of the unknown during Hurricane Katrina! This entire piece helps create a sense of urgency that is met with helplessness because we have little information on the people in this unfortunate situation, and little knowledge of how big of an impact the hurricane has had on millions of people just like them.
Acrylic on canvas | 48” x 36”
Meet Glenda Pivaral
Sam Houston State University
“Trendy is My Choice” - The irony of overconsumption, how we blindly decide to act in the moment to obtain objects. How our everyday choices, especially overconsumption, support poverty and exploitaion.
Found objects, air-dry porcelain clay | 24"h x 25"w x 18"d
Meet Lilibeth Flores
Sam Houston State University
“Celebration Goes Two Ways” - Having a birthday celebration is an important event for many people and cultures. We can still celebrate these fun events but also consider how small actions, such as littering, accumulate over time. We can enjoy these events, but celebration can go two ways; we can work on celebrating each other AND how clean and sanitary our environments are.
Watercolor and ink on paper | 18” x 24”
Meet Salena Indarjit
Montclair State University
“The World Around Us” - As years go on, our ecosystem becomes weaker and weaker; in recent years, citizens all over have begun to feel scared or even paranoid about their actions. Take a minute and think for a moment, "Are my actions causing more damage to the world around me?" You'd be surprised at how much we all contribute.
Digital illustration | 17" x 11"
Meet Charlie Lange
Fashion Institute of Technology
“Vulture” - The crumbling urban landscape, emaciated, almost skeleton-like figures, lurking turkey vulture, and the thistles that have taken over the space come together to create a depiction of our future. With the terminal threat of climate change looming, I wanted to create a frightening image of our future if we stay on this path. In order to avoid this fate, we must take action NOW!
Zinc etching | 15" x 12"
Meet Maisie Luo
MASON GROSS SCHOOL OF THE ARTS, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
“JBS's Beef Birthday Cake” - Politicians celebrating the 70th birthday of JBS, the largest meat processing company in the world, by consuming a cake made of ground beef with tree log candles from the Amazon deforestation. In 2022, US became the second biggest buyer of Brazilian beef supplied by JBS. The continuation of deforestation and building of more factory farming facilities have majorly impacted the indigenous groups whose livelihoods rely on the Amazon Forest and who are among the poorest communities in the world. Reflecting on the exploitation of the locals, the environmental impact of deforestation and factory farming, as well as the suffering of animals in factory farming settings, I make this painting to call attention to the lack of urgent attention from the politicians to actually protect the Amazon Forest and the people and animals living there.
Oil on canvas | 24” x 20”
Meet Kayla Stevens
MASON GROSS SCHOOL OF THE ARTS, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
“Chemical Control Burn” - A call to attention to the cost of burning toxic chemicals in an environment already suffering from record-breaking rising temperatures. The current regulations for transporting harmful substances pose a serious threat to long-term water and soil contamination.
Oil on canvas | 40” x 50”
Meet Katherine Dominguez
The City College of New York
“A Cosmic Law” - The climate change mess and disasters from a faraway viewpoint and worse from a closer view. The title portrays that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, and this law is what we are living in the present time. The causes of greed in power continuously harming our planet are now in effect and responding equally to climate change.
Collage acrylic painting on hardboard wood | 25” x 50”
Meet Justine Massabny
Montclair State University
“Frame of Hope” - The immense destruction of the global climate crisis and the importance of fighting for change. The flooding, drought, and pollution affects people in many different ways. Apart from the tragedy, there is a frame of hope. By extending a hand, donating or contacting government officials, we can make the future brighter for those in need.
Digital painting | 24” x 32”
Meet Frankie Tejada
Hunter College
“Without Water There is Only Destruction” - People of color are disproportionally at higher risk of being impacted by climate catastrophes. This becomes not only a climate issue but a social and inequality issue. The Indigenous person offers the audience the word “destruction” wrapped around a plastic bag. The plastic portrayed in the piece brings attention to the plastic pollution of our oceans.
Linoleum cut print, newspaper cutouts, and plastic bag on newsprint paper | 14”x14”
Meet Catherine Thurston
William Paterson University
“Bygone” - This watercolor skull painting embodies the haunting realization of extinction globally. Climate change contributes to global catastrophes, which affects the survival on this planet. We must take action NOW! or we will continue to see starvation, environmental degradation, pandemics, and global warming.
watercolor on paper | 35 3/4” x 24”
Meet Tehyla McLeod
MASON GROSS SCHOOL OF THE ARTS, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
“And It All Comes Crumbling Down” - This work brings attention to the more vulnerable communities that experience firsthand the devastating effects of climate change (in the many forms that it comes in). As the class systems go down, the unfaithful institutions of this world present their security as unreliable. Moving from a blissful upper class to a lower class drowned in turmoil, these figures remain trapped in the canvas as they deal with their existence in a climate-collapsing world.
Alcohol marker on paper | 17” x 48”
Meet Jeremy A. Feliz
The City College of New York
“Drenched and Cold” - A homeless person in a flooded subway station. Its reason to be is that the climate crisis affects us all, but especially those in extreme poverty, such as the homeless population, as they have no means of escaping the harsh conditions brought by extreme weather changes. They, too, are people and should be included in this conversation as victims of this ongoing issue.
Watercolor on paper | 29” x 21”
Meet Ria Monga
MASON GROSS SCHOOL OF THE ARTS, Rutgers University
“Threads of Survival: Weaving a Sustainable Future” - Climate change is exacerbating the effects of the monsoon season, resulting in more extreme weather patterns that often lead to flooding, landslides, and crop destruction. These events can be especially devastating for communities living in poverty, who may lack the resources to cope with the aftermath. The textile industry is particularly vulnerable and often associated with low wages, hazardous working conditions, and job insecurity. To combat this crisis, we must take action NOW!
Digital | 12” x 18”
Meet Anacia Sessoms
Montclair State University
“The DIVINE Destructionz” - I want to cover the concept of mother nature and her influence on today's society. The concept behind this piece is to show what Earth looks like through two different eyes and perspectives of life. The use of wire and clay showcase how we as humans turn trash into treasure by focusing our perspective on the simplest creations in life. Whether it’s material that doesn’t decompose or the way that waste piles up, us humans can always find a way to create a sustainable lifestyle from these materials, as seen in art, fashion, and even with man-made sculptures that reflect the beauty of nature. The way we see life is all about what we perceive it to be and how we want to create ethical impact: “Take action NOW!”
Mixed Media | 10" x 12" x 10"
Meet Theda Clesceri
Stony Brook University
“Displacement” - The theme for this year's Global Citizen Young Artist Collective was to capture the destructive effects of climate change on extreme poverty. Extreme weather events can cause people to lose their homes. This is a frightening reality for millions who are displaced as a result of floods, hurricanes, tsunamis and rising sea levels. Motivational speaker Louise Hay explains that our actions contribute to either peace or chaos, and reminds each of us to decide what kind of world we want to contribute to. We need to protect our planet, our home. We need to take action NOW!
Mixed Media | 42" x 48" x 48"
Meet Gabrielle Carmella
MASON GROSS SCHOOL OF THE ARTS, Rutgers University
“Preservation & Persistence” - In Preservation and Persistence, I wanted to focus on Manville, NJ, and the constant flooding the town continuously has to recover from. In my series, there are images of destruction, leveling of houses, and ecological damage, but I have contrasted them with artist Sean Zujkowski, a Manville-based film photographer, to show the community and the importance of helping them stay in their beloved town. My goal is for the local government to aid and protect the town from the floods of the Raritan River. Take action NOW!
Digital photography | 60" x 60"
Meet Alicia Yu
City College of New York
“Someday it’ll Be Too Late, the Time is NOW” - The piece I created was a PSA to urge people to get more involved in the climate crisis movement and the fight to end extreme poverty. I also added a personal element to it, through showing images and videos I’ve taken of the world and figuring out my own individual impact in this movement. I also include snippets of interviews I had with higher educators, to validate the concerns people should have about the climate crisis and its relation to poverty.
Video Documentary