What is PositiveFeedback?

In December 2009, Columbia University’s Earth Institute (EI) co-hosted, with the UK’s Tipping Point, British Council USA, and CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities, a two-day conference at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (NY) which brought together, for the first time in the US, leading artists and scientists focused on global climate change. Recognized by participants as a seminal event and a “stimulating and inspirational encounter,” the TippingPoint conference resulted in a number of arts/science partnerships and collaborations including PositiveFeedback, the new arts and climate science consortium led by Columbia University (Earth Institute), New York University (Center for Creative Research) and the City University of New York (Institute for Sustainable Cities). PositiveFeedback kicked off its public outreach in fall 2011, with the 2011 Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Open House on October 1.

The Project:

As the first New York City inter-institutional consortium designed specifically to support the collaborations of artists and scientists focused on climate change, PositiveFeedback will conduct a two-year pilot project on two levels: by providing engagement and research opportunities for artist-scientist collaboration, and by creating an inter-institutional infrastructure to support those and future collaborations, we will bring people together across disciplinary, institutional and other divides, and test potential for longer-term consortium initiatives.

Specifically, the overall goals of PositiveFeedback are to:

1) cultivate and support a community of scientists and artists focused on issues of climate change;
2) provide research assistance (including funding, workspace, mentorship, networking) for artists and scientists to pursue collaborative investigations;
3) serve as a nexus for arts/science interest related to climate change.

The next two years of pilot activity will inform the direction of PositiveFeedback as a resource for New York City’s arts and science communities over the next several years.

The Consortium’s activities will create new pathways for artists and scientists to work together on the topic of climate change, model collaborative work in this emerging field of art and science trans-disciplinarity and generate regular documentation of the project’s process and delivery for field-wide dissemination and replication.

Recent Events Joining Artists and Scientists:

Partnering for the Climate: An Artist-Scientist Mixer

Sunday, February 12, 2012, 3:00 p.m.
The Noguchi Museum, Long Island City

Featuring the collaborations of Mary Miss and Eric Sanderson, in a discussion moderated by Jeremy Pickard. A Pre-Valentine’s Day event to spark new partnerships!

This Noguchi Museum event co-hosted by PositiveFeedback highlighted the collaborations and potential that have arisen out of the working relationship of artist Mary Miss and scientist Eric Sanderson in a panel moderated by Jeremy Pickard of the Superhero Clubhouse. The panel was followed by a mixer for artists and scientists. More details, and a story about the event by NRDC magazine OnEarth, are here.