Sage Culture is pleased to present Climatopia - the second act of the three-exhibition program entitled Equilibrium Project.

The exhibition features works by Mitch Iburg, Domingos Tótora, Zoë Powell, and Valéria Nascimento. These artists constantly reflect on human’s relationship with Earth. Their research process is profound, and through their work, they dialogue with a primitive and essential part of our relationship with nature, contributing to reimagining our existence on this planet and bringing awareness to the urgency of the challenging times we live in.

The world is increasingly managed to maximize the flow of material contributions from nature to keep up with rising demands for food, energy, timber, and more. Global trade expands the geographic separation between supply and demand. This unparalleled appropriation of nature is causing the fabric of life on which humanity depends to fray and unravel.

This current scenario marks ‘The Anthropocene Epoch,’ an unofficial unit of geologic time used to describe the most recent period in Earth’s history when the human activity started to impact the planet’s climate and ecosystems significantly, as well as human health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, and economic growth in many ways.

The enormous development achieved over the past centuries has been disruptive. The exploitation of natural resources has contributed to unprecedented climate damages, like the destruction of rainforests, the extinction of numerous species of animals and plants, damage to the oceans, and unimaginable loss to humankind, especially to indigenous peoples directly impacted by this destructive pace.

Forest degradation is a ubiquitous form of human disturbance in the forest landscape. Beyond its destructive impacts on biodiversity and the livelihoods of forest-dependent people, it is a major driver of climate change. It accounts for roughly a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. The cause of current climate change is mainly human activity, burning fossil fuels, like natural gas, oil, and coal. Burning these materials releases what are called greenhouse gases into Earth’s atmosphere. These gases trap heat from the sun’s rays inside the atmosphere causing Earth’s average temperature to rise. This rise in the planet’s temperature is called global warming.

Rainforests play a vital role in global climate stability, locking up atmospheric carbon in their vegetation via photosynthesis. When forests are burned, degraded, or cleared, the opposite effect occurs: large amounts of carbon are released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide along with other greenhouse gases.

The Amazon Rainforest has a long history of human settlement. Still, in recent decades the pace of change has accelerated due to an increase in human population, the introduction of mechanized agriculture, and the integration of the Amazon region into the global economy. Vast quantities of commodities are produced in the Amazon — cattle, beef and leather, timber, soy, oil and gas, and minerals, to name a few.

If governments and society do not control greenhouse gases, deforestation and respect Indigenous peoples wisdom, a vicious cycle will continue, and the effects of that could be even more devastating. Today we stand at a pivotal juncture, and the solution will depend on our choices at present.

Sage Culture aims to join forces with like-minded initiatives for the Equilibrium Project to reinforce the message and help bring awareness to such an urgent matter as the climate crisis. Citizens, governments, intergovernmental organizations, and conservation groups are working together to protect these valuable but fragile ecosystems.

On the occasion of the Climatopia exhibition, Sage Culture is honored to partner with Amazon Watch. Celebrating 25 years of working in solidarity with Indigenous peoples of the Amazon, Amazon Watch works to protect the rainforest and amplify the voices and solutions of Indigenous peoples. In its 25th year Amazon Watch aims to avert the tipping point - the point at which the degradation of the rainforest is irreversible - through its global campaigns for human rights, corporate accountability, and centering Indigenous voices in the movement for climate justice.

To support Amazon Watch’s initiatives within the Amazon rainforest and its people, 10% of all sales proceeds from the Climatoipa exhibition will go towards the Organization. For more information about their initiatives, please visit: AmazonWatch.org