Judith Modrak, Stuyvesant Park 2026

For the last year, a colorful multi-arm sculptural being by Judith Modrak has been sitting atop a large tree stump in Stuyvesant Park, in New York City, where a 300 year old “Mother Elm” was removed. The site has become a place of remembrance to acknowledge the tree’s former life, and an opportunity for artists to site works in the park that speak to nature, what has been and what remains.

Below is an interview with Modrak by a local high school student in New York City, where the artist shares about the work and her arts practice placing her sculpture in public spaces.

Interview with Judith Modrak (JM) conducted by Jake Siegel (JS), Summer 2026

JS: What originally inspired you to create Nurturing Tree? Have any artists, writers, or experiences influenced your work?

JM: "Nurturing Tree" was inspired by Stuyvesant Park’s historic Mother Elm who was felled three years ago after a long and impactful life, touching many of those who encountered her.

As I watched this majestic 300 year old tree being cut down, I had a strong visceral reaction. I channeled my sadness into the creation of a new sculpture, which was ultimately to become "Nurturing Tree". The artwork was a way to pay homage to this incredible tree and reimagine its’ essence. At the time, I had no idea that the sculpture would spring to life in the exact location which gave birth to the creative concept — now that was a bit of a magic!

JS: Why did you choose a tree specifically as the central symbol of the artwork?

JM: The larger idea was very much about cycles of life and regeneration in all living organisms.

JS: What emotions or reactions do you hope people experience when they interact with the installation?

JM: I hope they have introspection about the role of trees and green spaces in our lives. Trees and plants quite literally give us life in the form of oxygen and food, it is only fitting that we honor them as well.

Acknowledgement that our behavior as humans toward the Earth must change.

Affection for sculpture and an awareness of how interconnected we are to our environment.

JS: How do you think your art, or public art in general, can influence the way people think about environmental issues?

JM: Many of my public artworks ("Endangered Fossils”, “Nurturing Tree”, and “Fluid Pathways”) engage people in considering the origins of our ecosystem and our symbiotic role and responsibility to that environment. I would hope that my work, and eco-art in general, foster a deeper connection to our beloved planet and a drive to find solutions to protect it and combat the climate crisis while there is still time.

JS: Were there any challenges in creating an outdoor public installation?

JM: A big consideration is the weather — the installation needs to be planned for when it’s not raining or snowing—ideally!

JS: When people see your sculptures, what is the one thing you hope stays with them afterwards?

JM: There are many ideas and feelings that I hope resonate when people view my sculptures. One important thread throughout my body of work is that art can represent a deeper truth about the world and as a result serve as a catalyst for change and reflection.

Jake Siegel is a high school senior from New York City with interests spanning the intersection of art and the environment, media, and global affairs. He is actively involved in technical theatre in school as well as Model UN, where he competes at conferences and co-leads his school’s club. Outside of school, Jake enjoys baking, running, and biking around the city.

For artists who are interested in proposing a work for Stuyvesant Square Park in New York City, the neighborhood association will be accepting proposals through October 25, 2026.

More information here

September 2026 e-Newsletter for subscribers and non-members is here

Hidden in Plain Sight and Brought to Light: Natalia Khorover’s Transformative Waste Practice and Upcoming Salvage Art Summit

By: Olivia Ann Carye Hallstein 

Natalya Khorover’s quilted urban landscapes offer hidden surprises and lessons about waste and climate change. For over two decades, she has seamlessly integrated and transformed plastic and other discarded materials into her work so that it becomes nearly unrecognizable. This upcoming September 24th to 27th, she has organized a Salvage Art Summit that will host 20+ art-activists gathering together about a common passion for creative resilience and sustainability. We hope to see you there! It is free to sign up at this link: https://www.salvageartsummit.com

Natalya, It is very exciting to hear that you are running a Salvage Art Summit later this month (Sept 24 to 27)! Would you tell our members what they can look forward to when participating? 

The Salvage Summit (Sept 24–27) is a free virtual gathering for artivists (artists who are also activists). Participants can expect workshops, thought-provoking sessions, and presentations from 20+ leaders on transforming waste into art, championing sustainability, and fueling creative resilience. The event includes live sessions, a Telegram community for discussions, and a Co-Create Day with interactive activities. Free registration grants 24-hour access to daily presentations, with an option to upgrade to the Reclaim Pass for lifetime access and exclusive content.



What a unique opportunity to hear from 20+ leaders on sustainability art-ivism! Which includes yourself, having worked with salvaged materials for many years. How does combining single use plastics through sewing allow you to reflect on the climate crisis and sustainability? 

It’s my way of taking what would end up choking our planet and giving it new life. And here’s the thing: it makes people stop and look at what they’d usually ignore, and that’s how I get them thinking about sustainability and the climate crisis. In many ways, it’s a meditative process which is also good for my sanity. Sewing single-use plastics together, by hand or with my industrial machine, is how I transform trash into something beautiful and unrecognizable.

(Screenshot from www.artbynatalya.com)

Transforming trash into something beautiful and unrecognizable as a form of artivism and meditation in your depictions of urban landscapes must be a powerful experience. Why is it important to your message and process that they become beautiful and unrecognizable?

I make the plastics blend right into my urban landscapes because trash is already everywhere — we just don’t always see it. We’re blind to it. By making it part of the scene, I force people to notice what’s normally invisible. And that’s the whole point: once you see it, you can’t unsee it, and maybe it’ll push you to do something about the climate crisis.

Thank you so much, Natalya. We are looking forward to seeing you on September 24th and really digging into how art can create change! 

REGISTER

Visitors learn about MARZ while touring Un-development 2 at Metabolic Studio

Un-development 2

MARZ Soil Remediation

Transforming a Contaminated Industrial Site into a Living Riverbed

Metabolic Studio

Aug 12, 2026

MARZ is a soil remediation experiment within Metabolic Studio’s Un-development 2, a project that aims to transform an industrial warehouse into a living riverbed connected to the Los Angeles River floodplain. The site was formerly associated with Standard Oil and then used as a petrochemical storage facility, and baseline testing confirmed elevated lead and petroleum-range organics beneath the warehouse floor.

From April 2023, to June 2026, artist/chemist Maru García worked with Metabolic Studio’s Farmlab team, developing protocols and testing bioremediation strategies that could be used in situ. The first phase of the project tested surface-applied zeolites, compost, mulch, and phytoremediation, with three different treatment protocols in nine plots. In the second phase, after identifying willow as a strong remediator, we favored willow phytoremediation and added oyster mushrooms in all plots.

The study prioritized methods that reduce exposure, avoid disruptive excavation, support soil as a living ecosystem, and can be replicated at sites without industrial remediation infrastructure. We have included our results and methodology below along with a poster summarizing the results, and a remediation toolkit that explains how you can use these methods yourself.

Click here to download the poster and the soil remediation toolkit.

Continue reading full article on the Metabolic Studio Substack here

Online Course for Members October 24, 2026 - January 2, 2027 Sustain(ability) & the Art Studio: Environmental Justice DEADLINE October 1, 2026 This course will help artists integrate a solidarity-oriented approach to their creative practice, as we address the significance of intersectional thinking within repressive structures. We will cover topics such as environmental justice, decolonial praxis, and food sovereignty, (among others) to understand the impacts of globalization on people and the environment. As we study these topics alongside the function of art in cultural production, participants will be invited to attune to their surroundings through collaboration, advocacy, contribution, or invocation in their own eco-art practice. No prior understanding is required.  As part of our Sustain(ability) & the Art Studio series, participants will also learn how to wildcraft art materials, and think critically about how one’s community and ecosystem are vital allies in a time of socio-ecological destabilization.   The first half of the course includes lectures, guest artist talks, resource offerings, and group discussion, as we explore the implications of a justice-oriented art practice and investigate the function of art today. In the second half of the course, each student will work on their own research project, informed by course content (this may include a project already in progress). They will receive feedback from Anna and the class before a final presentation, open to the public.  All classes will be held on Saturdays from 2-4pm ET. The first three sessions will take place over three consecutive weeks, beginning on October 24th. The final two classes will take place over two months, giving students time to execute a creative project of their own inspired by course content. This online course is taught by Anna Chapman with guest artists Juan William Chávez, and Beverly Naidus.

Course Schedule I - Intro to Solidarity in Creative Practice - Saturday, October 24, 2-4pm EST - Visiting artist from ecoartspace (((Bee (Beverly) Naidus)))  - Function of art in cultural production - Ecological frameworks - Environmental Justice  - Solidarity in creative practice - The local and the global II - Art Processes & Sustainability - Saturday, October 31, 2-4pm EST - Sustainability as a standalone concept - Historical background of art - Sustainable art processes - Paints, inks, & watercolors - Charcoal - Natural dyes  - Papermaking  - Found & recycled materials - Ecological approaches to art education III - Objectives, Relationships & Alliances - Saturday, November 7, 2-4pm EST - Visiting artist from ecoartspace (((Juan William Chavez))) - Interbeing  - Local relationships and alliances - Decolonial frameworks - Settler-colonial + Indigenous Relations - Food sovereignty - Developing ideas around sustainability - Action plan (students develop a project from an action plan) VI - Progress Presentations - Saturday, December 5, 2-4pm EST - Participants share the research and progress of their projects and receive feedback from class and instructor V - Presentations - Saturday, January 2, 2-4pm EST - Participants present and debrief about their projects Anna Chapman is passionate about the intersection of art, education, ecology and healing. Believing that interdisciplinary approaches to art and education are necessary to meaning-making in the context of the Anthropocene, her work is inspired by post-colonial, post-human, early European, and indigenous perspectives. Through her practice, Anna aims to mobilize reconciliatory relationships to place, community, materiality, and voice, to awaken one’s innate capacity for care and creative life force. She received a BFA in Painting at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2012, a Masters of Arts in Art Education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2022, and is currently pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts at UMass Amherst. Anna currently teaches through the Center for Art Education and Sustainability, the Continuing Education department of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and at Umass Amherst. @owl_and_apple  annachapmaneducation.com Cost is $375 per member, membership fee can be waved if needed. Approximately 12 participants max. Scholarships available.  Email info@ecoartspace.org to participate

August 2026 e-Newsletter for subscribers and non-members is here

Fostering Underlife Gardens Through Image: Cindy Stockton Moore on her work as a naturalist animator and her upcoming workshop @SWALE

Interview with Olivia Ann Carye Hallstein

Cindy Stockton Moore creates research-based animations about underground soil ecosystems. Trained as a naturalist, she has written extensively about art making and has a fully integrated artistic practice making her own natural inks and dyes for her artwork and animations. By integrating foraging practices and informing her work with environmental science, she collaborates with musicians and poets to create animations that are reflective and educate about the natural world. We are very excited to have her give a workshop at ecoartspace @SWALE on Governors Island in New York City, Saturday, August 8th, from 2 to 4pm EDT exploring underground motion through hands-on animation techniques. To sign up for the “Animated Soil Workshop” with Cindy Stockton Moore, please use the following link: ecoartspace - Swale House - Governors Island 2026.

Hi Cindy, your upcoming workshop where you will teach participants to make short animations reflecting underground ecologies sounds super interesting. Would you tell us a bit about what participants can expect from the workshop?

In this workshop, participants will be introduced to some of the underlife creatures found in the rDNA tests of the soil. From there, we’ll be making analog animations – starting with a simple two-frame motion – imagining the ways things may move underground. I’ll bring in some early moving image devices – zoetropes and phenakistoscopes – to build up to multiple frames and play with the optics of moving images.

As well as being an artist, you are also a master naturalist. What does this work look like? And how did your inspiration sprout from this interest?

This is a great question and opportunity to clarify! I don’t have an additional master's degree as a naturalist – I am a PA Master Naturalist, which is more akin to being a Master Gardener. The Master Naturalist program is an extension of my volunteer conservation work and provides a network for collaborations with like-minded people and organizations in the state. I’ve been certified since 2024, and this year, I’ve been working with The Land Health Institute on a series of workshops, experiments and talks around natural color and native species.

It sounds like you will be integrating this work into the animation workshop, which reflects your unique work as a naturalist animator. Does your practice process look like this as well?

My process is a blend of studio and field work. Since I make my own pigments and paints, I am often outdoors gathering, growing, and foraging materials for color. I also gather imagery and visual samples in the field. The work of converting the natural materials to paints and paintings mainly occurs in the studio. The paintings are often animated into experimental videos – and that means time on the computer, layering and editing. For my process (and sanity), it’s important to fluctuate between the two to ground my work and my practice off-screen. Several times a year, I structure a mini-residency to be primarily outdoors and away from the city to reconnect.

I’ve always been inspired by a curiosity about the natural world – and rewarded by observing it deeply. This parallel between the environmental sciences is played out in the studio and during outreach. In this project, animation brings to life some of the wonders and complexity of our more-than-human collaborators.

Thanks, Cindy! We are looking forward to finding out more on August 8th!

RSVP 

July 2026 e-Newsletter for subscribers and non-members is here

Flyer: Museum of Fishes & Greens, on view now through June 28th, River Center in Beacon, New York. Additional hours by appointment, contact eve@soonisnow.org

Carried by Hand: What the AI Inevitability Argument Leaves Out

Photography, Water, and the Fight That Is Coming

Substack post by Lesly Deschler Canossi, including review of the Museum of Fishes & Greens commissioned by Soon is Now, Beacon, New York

excerpted from here

A kind of refusal

As I write this, I am sitting in the Museum of Fishes & Greens, an exhibition presented and commissioned by Soon is Now, a climate and eco-themed arts organization founded by Eve Morgenstern, producing exhibitions, live performances, residencies, and artist-led workshops on the Hudson River/Muhheakantuck in Beacon, New York. Museum of Fishes & Greens is an immersive multimedia collaboration, made out of an exchange of ideas and art workshops between Food Studio Collective, a multidisciplinary group of artists, curators, and scholars from Kolkata and Shantiniketan, India, and women in fishing and farming communities in the Sundarbans, West Bengal. Bringing together batik sari textiles, handmade paper, a handcrafted book with data, memories, plants and recipes, and three films, this project explores the social, ecological, and cultural impact of food systems and climate change through art. The show features the handwork and personal stories of women in the Sundarbans, the biodiverse delta in West Bengal that climate change is actively dismantling.

In March and April of this year, with the support of the Food Studio Collective, these women made saris from their own drawings of fishes and plants, made paper from local vegetation, and recorded their recipes. The saris hang throughout the exhibition space, forming a kind of tent, loosely reminiscent of clotheslines, creating a warm and intimate environment for visitors to move through the flora, fauna, and fish of the Sundarbans. Handmade paper, made with locally foraged greens and fish parts, adds an unusual textural element, and original drawings by the women hang on moveable walls, giving the space the feeling of a working studio. Three films place you alongside the women as they forage, cook, create, and live. The result is an archive of knowledge - culinary, agricultural, and ecological - that the Sundarbans may not be able to hold much longer, translated into craft by the people who carry it.

Installation view: At Scenic Hudson’s River Center, Museum of Fishes & Greens, a multimedia collaboration on climate, craft and food by , artists and curators from Kolkata, and women from fishing and farming communities in the Sundarbans, West Bengal. Source

This installation allows us, 8000 miles away, to hear directly from the women as they wade into waters while navigating crocodiles and snakes, and into the markets where they sell what they have gathered. But the water itself is changing with rising salinity, driven by the Bay of Bengal pushing inland as sea levels climb, transforming the Sundarbans from the inside. The region sits at the confluence of hundreds of rivers and the planet’s largest mangrove forest, ecosystems that have long buffered these communities from the worst of what the ocean can do. But mangroves are being cleared for aquaculture, farming, and human settlement, and an estimated 20 to 35 percent of the world’s mangroves have been lost since 1980. As glaciers melt and temperatures rise, the delta’s capacity to hold back the sea shrinks. Work is already scarce. For many women here, wading in water in service of the fishing industry is one of the few options left.

Portrait of local collaborator: Gauri Mandal with original / enlarged drawing (in background), and printed sari detail from limited edition handcrafted cookbook: Recipe of Resilience, subtitle: Museum of Fishes & Greens, curated by Sayantan Maitra Boka

Continue reading here

June 2026 e-Newsletter for subscribers and non-members is  here