Boston Green Ribbon Commission and Cultural Institutions Consortium Launch ‘Action Pact’ Climate Change Initiative
Kicking off this week with a public art installation at the Franklin Park Zoo, the three-month campaign will draw public attention to climate change through coordinated events, public art installations and programs at over a dozen of Greater Boston’s cultural institutions
BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Boston Green Ribbon Commission (GRC) has joined with the City of Boston and nearly 40 of Boston’s top cultural institutions to unveil Action Pact 2022, a first-of-its-kind public awareness campaign that will engage, educate and draw attention to the pressing issue of climate change. Kicking off this week with a public art installation at the Franklin Park Zoo, the Action Pact campaign – entitled ‘Ready, Resilient, Reinvented’ – will offer climate themed programming of all kinds over the next three months (April 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022) to the public including events, additional public art installations and coordinated programming at more than a dozen of Boston’s world-class arts, educational, sports and entertainment organizations.
“In this closing window of time to act, Boston must lead by taking every possible step to prepare for and mitigate the effects of the climate crisis,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. “I am grateful to the Green Ribbon Commission and Boston’s cultural institutions for collectively supporting this Action Pact and our efforts to become a more resilient and just community.”
The City of Boston aims to be carbon neutral by 2050, as well as increase resilience to climate threats including extreme weather, heat and sea level rise. To support these efforts, the Green Ribbon Commission, the Museum of Science, the New England Aquarium, the Boston Red Sox, the Museum of Fine Arts and 40 of Boston’s top cultural institutions formed a partnership that has served as the genesis for the Action Pact Boston campaign. With the goal of becoming an annual event, Action Pact seeks to capture the public’s attention around a vision of a future Boston that is carbon-free, climate-ready, equitable and innovative.
“We are incredibly excited to launch Action Pact in collaboration with our partners across the city and with Boston’s leading cultural institutions,” said Amy Longsworth, Executive Director of the Boston Green Ribbon Commission. “Along with our dedicated partners, we envision Action Pact becoming an annual event that will harness the power of arts and culture to open people’s minds and help people see things in powerful new ways. Our goal is to harness that power and encourage a sustained focus on visioning and achieving a climate-safe future.”
The inaugural theme – Ready, Resilient, Reinvented – of the 2022 Action Pact campaign embraces a wide range of connections and entry points to Boston’s climate challenges, including the need to learn from our past, mobilize our collective energies and imagine a future worth striving for by taking productive action that truly matters.
“The climate crisis we face requires a collective response like that of Action Pact,” said Tim Ritchie, President of the Museum of Science. “We are proud to be a founding member of this important assembly of cultural institutions in Boston, to educate our community on climate solutions. Together with our civic and cultural partners, we can inspire millions of people on the many ways – big and small – we can make long-lasting change.”
“With millions of fans coming through our gates each season, our organization has put considerable thought and effort into working to offset the environmental impact of operating a 110-year-old ballpark,” said Jon Lister, Vice President of Facilities Management at the Boston Red Sox. “Beginning in 2008 with solar panels, and more recently with the installation of a rooftop garden to grow fresh produce for ballpark kitchens, to fully offsetting our electrical consumption, the greening of Fenway Park has been ongoing. The Action Pact initiative allows us to continue to share our efforts on climate action while engaging a wider audience.”
The Action Pact 2022 campaign will include the following components over the next three months:
- Boston Cultural Institution Programming – As part of the collective Action Pact campaign, over a dozen cultural institutions will feature climate-themed events including exhibitions, installations, panel discussions, film screenings, lectures and children’s programs – to name a few. Some notable programs and exhibitions will include the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center’s “More or Less in Common: Environment and Justice in the Human Landscape,” the Museum of Science’s “New England Climate Stories” and more. You can visit https://www.actionpact.boston/events for a calendar and detailed listing of these events and programs.
- Public Art Installations – To engage more Bostonians in Action Pact 2022, the GRC has sponsored a series of public art installations. Planned in partnership with local artists and GRC member institutions, the installations will consist of a series of pop-up, climate inspired artworks done all over the City during Spring 2022. In order to leave no long-term physical impact on their site, the artworks are, by design, ephemeral; created with materials such as charcoal, vegetable dyes and other materials, which will naturally fade over time. The first public artwork will be installed this week at the Franklin Park Zoo, followed by an installation at Boston Medical Center the week of May 2nd. Future installations are planned for the Boston Children’s Museum, Fenway Park and other potential locations. For details on all planned public art installations visit the Action Pact website or reach out to cbelanger@sloweymcmanus.com.
- Public Events – In conjunction with the Action Pact media partner, The Boston Globe, and partner cultural organizations, the GRC will also hold a series of events over the three-month campaign. A full schedule of Action Pact events can be found here: https://www.actionpact.boston/events.
About the Boston Green Ribbon Commission
The mission of the Green Ribbon Commission is to accelerate the implementation of the City’s Climate Action Plan by convening, organizing, and enabling leaders from Boston’s key sectors. The City of Boston is committed to achieving net zero carbon energy sources by 2050, even as the city grows. The GRC provides a forum for representatives of the private sector and the City to discuss, plan and act on the opportunities, challenges, ideas, and requirements of preparing Boston to meet the imperatives of climate change. To learn more, visit www.greenribboncommission.org or follow us on Twitter.
About Action Pact
Action Pact is a consortium of arts, science, history, sports and entertainment organizations committed to leadership on climate action through creativity, education and facility energy efficiency and resilience. Arts and culture have the power to open people’s minds and help people see things in new ways. The goal of Action Pact is to harness that power and encourage a sustained, culturally-based focus on visioning and achieving a climate-safe future. Action Pact is a partnership between the Boston Green Ribbon Commission, the City of Boston, and over 40 of Boston’s world-class cultural institutions. To learn more, visit https://www.actionpact.boston.
Contacts
Media:
Claire Belanger
cbelanger@sloweymcmanus.com
585-730-1218
