New Haven Artists awarded 2022–23 Climate Engagement through Art in Cities Fellowships

The Yale Art School, in cooperation with the Yale School of Architecture and the Yale School of the Environment, is pleased to announce the recipients of a fellowship in Climate Engagement through Art in Cities: Victoria Martinez (MFA 2020) and Daniel Pizarro (MFA 2012).

An opportunity for artists who have lived in New Haven for at least two years, the fellows will bring together art, civic engagement, and new technological innovations—specifically cooling mural paint that reflects UV and NIR radiation—to develop art installations that will help specific ‘hot’ neighborhoods in New Haven while simultaneously creating interest and raising awareness about climate change. The School of Art extends its sincere thanks to the team of co-applicants for this grant, including faculty and staff from the Yale Schools of the Environment, Architecture, and Nursing; and representatives of city government in New Haven for making this collaboration, and these fellowships, possible.

According to current research, existing cities generate about two-thirds of carbon emissions, and 100 of the largest emitting cities produce about 20% of the global carbon footprint. The most recent IPCC report concludes that the urban heat island is amplified by global climate change, and extreme heat causes more deaths than any other weather-related hazard. A key organizer of this fellowship is Karen Seto, Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science at the Yale School of the Environment. Dr. Seto believes that cities can be solutions to climate change, highlighting the possibility that, “Here lies an unprecedented opportunity: existing and future cities are integral to solving the climate crisis. Learning how to design, build, redevelop, and operate sustainable cities is one of the most critical scientific and societal challenges of our time.”

There is growing evidence that solving climate change will require educating, persuading, increasing awareness, and mobilizing all members of the public to take action. However, public engagement with and understanding of climate change action is low, especially among urban residents, urban youth, and African American and Latinx populations. Yet it is precisely these communities who have had limited opportunities to engage and share strategies to adapt to climate change, though they are among the most vulnerable. This project brings together art, civic engagement, and new technological innovations with cooling paint to develop art installations that help cities adapt to climate change while simultaneously creating interest and raising awareness about climate change. Public art installations and eco-murals co-developed with the community will raise awareness about how to build urban climate resilience.

The Climate Engagement through Art in Cities Fellowships focuses on the importance of cities to adapt to a warming climate—stressing the significance of, and experimenting with the ways in which art can contribute to urban adaptation to a warming world. The project is grounded in both urban climate science and science communication research that finds that the public’s sense of hope coupled with tangible experiences will increase their agency and willingness to be actively involved.

With her practice rooted in painting, textiles, public art, and education, Victoria Martinez has over thirteen years of experience leading and facilitating community-based projects, including a 2019 mural “Intersecting Histories,” developed in collaboration with the Wilson Branch Library, the Yale Center for British Art, and the New Haven Free Public Library. As Climate Engagement Fellow, Martinez will create a unique mural with community input and participation using special surface-cooling paints in New Haven.

Daniel Pizarro is a long-standing New Haven resident with a multidisciplinary background whose creative practice centers on race/class, bilingual design, and the urban environment. Pizarro will support the project as the first Communications Design Fellow for the Climate Engagement through Art in Cities initiative, creating a graphic identity and creative strategy, as well as organizing informational and feedback sessions with community members ahead of the mural’s installation.

Through these one-year fellowships, running from September 2022 through August 2023, Martinez and Pizarro will bring a thoughtful and fully-engaged project, in the form of mural art, to fruition, allowing sufficient time to engage with the New Haven community, including the public and the city; and to hold workshops and dialogues within the University and with the New Haven community.

The Climate Engagement through Art in Cities Fellowships are made possible through Yale University’s Planetary Solutions Project, a campus-wide initiative launched in December 2020. Aiming to raise awareness of climate and biodiversity work across Yale, and to spark new approaches, the Planetary Solutions Project is rooted in scholarship and research, and calls on Yale to provide leadership in tackling environmental challenges and to use the campus as a laboratory for implementing the best technologies, policies, and ideas.

The Fellowships are funded by the Yale School of Art and the Climate Impact Innovation Fund and are made possible through the Yale Planetary Solutions Project.

About Victoria Martinez

Victoria Martinez is an interdisciplinary artist who honors her Mexican-American ancestry through textile-based projects including installation art, painting, and printmaking. Her work is inspired by public art, ancient sites, architecture, and the urban environment.

She has exhibited at venues including the Yale University Art Gallery, the Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago, the National Museum of Mexican Art, the Perrotin Gallery viewing salon, and at Transmitter Gallery. Her work has been supported by The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library Research Fellowship and The MacMillian Center Field Research Fellowship through Yale University, the Actos de Confianza Grant through the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC), the Career Development Grant through the American Association of University Women, and a travel grant through Theaster Gates Rebuild Foundation.

Martinez holds a BFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and an MFA from Yale University School of Art in Painting and Printmaking. Upcoming projects include a solo exhibition at The Chicago Cultural Center curated by Kristin Korolowicz and a collaborative performance at Museo Universitario del Chopo in Mexico City.

About Daniel Pizarro

Daniel Pizarro is an Art Director with a design studio practice centered on bilingual branding and creative strategy for social impact. As a Chilean from the US Diaspora, Daniel has rooted his work in community-based partnerships to foster collaboration and social innovation.

Daniel previously worked for 6 years as a Design + Technology Fellow for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) where he helped implement communication and branding strategies to strengthen the regulation of financial markets after the US financial crisis in 2008. His most recent work addressed complex social issues in the Latine/x communities, including Covid vaccine equity and the housing evictions crisis.

Daniel received his MFA in Graphic Design from the Yale School of Art and BA from UCLA Design | Media Arts. His work has been exhibited at the 2014 Brno Biennial and published in Graphic magazine, issue 22. His work has been supported by the National Arts Strategies Creative Community Fellowship and National Endowment for the Arts.