In 2018 and 2019, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists announced that the Doomsday Clock had reached “2 minutes to midnight.” For 70 years, the Clock has been a symbol for how close we are to a man-made disaster, where midnight is a point of no return. What is two minutes to midnight for New Yorkers? And what can we do about it?
With several other artists, we explored 2 minutes to midnight as a free, interactive outdoor co-creation lab under the 7 train. Glass Hours and 2 Minutes to Midnight was supported by Sunnyside Shines and the Queens Council on the Arts with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Featuring these amazing artists and thinkers:
- CATHIE WRIGHT-LEWIS: cathiewrightlewis.com
- MONICA JAHAN BOSE: monicajahanbose.com
- CHEYENNE “ANGEL” LEWIS
- PURVI SHAH: purvipoets.net
- MELISSA LIU: https://www.teachingartistproject.org/single-post/2019/05/17/melissa-liu-visual-artist
- LATRICE VERRETT: https://www.discogs.com/artist/81811-Latrice-Verrett
- JAIME-FAYE BEAN: sunnysideshines.com
- JENA PINCOTT: deepthinkdecks.com
- Queens Writers Resist, ft. Pam Reyes and Kay Ottinger
Cathie Wright-Lewis, Novelist & Educator.
Power in the Pen. Workshop. 2019.
In Two Minutes to Midnight, Bliss Plaza, Queens.
With funding from Sunnyside Shines and Queens Council on the Arts w/ public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership w/ City Council.
Photos by Neha Gautam.
cathiewrightlewis.com; https://powerinthepenww.org/
In 2014, Cathie met with Miriam Robertson, curator of The Brownsville Heritage House to propose her dream to begin a community writing workshop for the residents of Brownsville. From that dream, the Power in the Pen Writer’s Workshop has emerged into an inspiring incubator for authors.
Monica Jahan Bose, Artist & Activist.
Two Minutes/Two Degrees.
Mixed Media, Pervasive Installation. 2019.
In Two Minutes to Midnight, Bliss Plaza, Queens.
With funding from Sunnyside Shines and Queens Council on the Arts w/ public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership w/ City Council.
Photos by Neha Gautam.
monicajahanbose.com
Monica created a space of resilience, learning, and healing with handwoven saris from Bangladesh. She create da multilingual collaborative sari with participants’ promises, hopes, and fears about climate change as we work together to cool down our planet and keep the global temperature increase below 2° celsius.
Melissa Liu, Artist.
Reimagining Beyond Nuclear Families.
Mixed Media, Pervasive Installation. 2019.
In Two Minutes to Midnight, Bliss Plaza, Queens.
With funding from Sunnyside Shines and Queens Council on the Arts w/ public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership w/ City Council.
Photos by Neha Gautam.
https://www.3d.anjalideshmukh.com/2-minutes-midnight/
Participants were invited to reconsider the roles and expectations tied to the concept of “family.” Together, in intimate conversation, groups reimagined what a group of people might look like in a post-apocalyptic future where we are collectively facing scarcity and instability due to the destruction of Earth. Pulling from collective wisdom, the dialogue shaped a temporary sculpture that provide imaginations of how might we rebuild human society to be accountable to each other for our own survival.