The Institute of Sacred Music will host an opening reception on March 27 at 5 p.m. for Biophilia: In Excelsis, a new exhibit that focuses on the theme of sacred ecosystems and their imminent transformation due to increased global warming.
Guests will have the opportunity to enjoy some refreshments, browse the exhibit, and to hear Dr. Gavin Schmidt, the director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies—an organization that predicts atmospheric and climate changes in the 21st century—engage in a panel discussion with curator, M.Annenberg, and artists Susan Hoffman Fishman, Eleanor Goldstein, and Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky.
Curated by M. Annenberg, the exhibit brings together twenty-two artists (listed below) who represent different cultural backgrounds, generations, and geographic locations, and who explore the concept of Biophilia, the love of life. New York based art writer, cultural critic, and curator, Eleanor Heartney, writes:
“Some journey to remote areas to investigate the impact of climate change on sensitive ecosystems. In the service of her dazzling paintings, Danielle Eubank has sailed every ocean on the planet. Eleanor Goldstein bears witness to the shrinking of the arctic glaciers. D J Spooky delves into the environmental politics of Antarctica. Diane Burko reflects on the climate science surrounding glaciers and the Amazon Rain forest.” Read Eleanor’s full review of the exhibit here.
The exhibit will be on view at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music’s Miller Hall at 406 Prospect Street, New Haven from March 27-May 3 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 12-4 p.m. It is sponsored by the ISM’s Religion, Ecology, and Expressive Culture Initiative. The discussion panel will also be livestreamed at this link.
*The following artists will be featured:
M. Annenberg
Krisanne Baker
Lois Bender
Walter Brown
Diane Burko
Janet Culbertson
Cameron Davis
Noreen Dean Dresser
Danielle Eubank
Susan Hoffman Fishman
Eleanor Goldstein
Kathy Levine
Angela Manno
Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky
Cristian Pietrapiana
Elisa Pritzker
Lisa Reindorf
Babs Reingold
Ann Shapiro
Steven Siegel
Simone Spicer
Suzanne Theodora White
“The artists in Biophilia: In Excelsis dwell in the sacred apprehension of the divine in the life forms that draw us to them. We are in relationship with the spiritual presence that transcends the objects and beings that surround us—the life forms of trees, water, sky, and of the myriad creatures of the forests and the fields. As Thomas Berry wrote, “that numinous presence whence all things come into being.’”— M. Annenberg