WE ARE NATURE SERIES
– addressing humanity’s place on Earth in aims of engaging a diverse audience in environmental efforts through art.
Set in a surreally beautiful nature sanctuary sprouting on top of an ExxonMobil industrial plant on the bank of Superfund site Newtown Creek, the recurring WE ARE NATURE Rooftop Series offers a combination of multiple art forms – dance, music, performance, visual art, poetry, prose and film – addressing humanity’s place on Earth in aims of engaging a diverse audience in environmental efforts through art.
Each season of our outdoor summer series is structured around a theme referencing systems thinking. This is a comprehensive approach to environmental sustainability spearheaded by leading thinker Fritjof Capra, a longtime NOoSPHERE Arts collaborator. Systems thinking shows that all the major problems of our time—including energy, economics, climate change, and inequality—are interconnected and interdependent.
OVERVIEW OF SEASONS
View upcoming and past We Are Nature events HERE.
2023
Rising and Falling
In 2023, we explore the theme of Nature’s Cycles. A cycle is an interval of time during which a characteristic event occurs, often repeated regularly or in a sequence of events.
There are cycles in everything—seasons, circadian rhythms, cellular life, planetary systems, politics, and economics—and cycles in one realm affect cycles in others. Thinking about cycles can help us to discern structure, order, and patterns in the world around us, and to realize that everything in life will ebb and flow—an encouraging thought in times of darkness.
NOoSPHERE Arts’ 2023 programming is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and Broadway Stages.
TEXT ABOUT THIS YEARS EVENT: Solstice Event w. Farima Berenji and The Shul Band, Wildflower Festival Dance, Music, Art, and Play across the roofs Earth Ethics Climate Week Event, Open House New York.
Watch a video of the season?
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Season 2022-2020 continue here
WE ARE NATURE 2023: Rising and Falling
The 4th iteration of our annual rooftop series combining Arts, Environmental Activism, and Community Building @ and around Kingsland Wildflowers @Broadway Stages, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NYC.
WE ARE NATURE: Rising and Falling
Solstice Celebration
ROOFTOP SEASON-OPENING EVENT
Sat, Jun 24, 7 pm @NOoSPHERE Arts
We will kick off our outdoor season with a music, dance, and performing arts event celebrating the summer solstice. Held in the spectacular, one-of-a-kind setting of wildflower meadows stretching across the roofs of an industrial plant against the iconic backdrop of the NYC skyline, the event will be centered around a Sufi opening ritual honoring nature's cycles, performed by Whirling Dervish Farima Berenji. Farima—a Sufi Master and Magi from the bloodline of Iranian Zoroastrian Magi—and her sacred dancers will be accompanied by the klezmer music and Sephardic folk melodies of The Shul Band.
The ceremony has been designed as a unique blend of Muslim and Jewish elements—epitomizing the possibility of interfaith collaboration.
In addition, don’t miss the unveiling of Westerlies (a sonic and sculptural installation devised for the Kingsland Wildflowers Green Roof) by the 2023 season's KWBS Residency Award winners: Ezra Campelli and Jeremy Clemente
WE ARE NATURE: Rising and Falling
Wildflower Festival
Sat, July 22 @NOoSPHERE Arts | @Last Frontier NYC | @Kingsland Wildflowers
As a Kingsland Wildflowers partner, NOoSPHERE Arts is proud to present visual arts, dance, music, performance and more across and below the rooftops!
VISUAL ARTS:
~ Natures Cycles: a small works exhibition (KWBS Community Room)
~ Paintings (Last Frontier NYC)
~ Site-Specific Installation by KWBS Residency Award Winner (Upper Meadow)
DANCE:
~ It’s Showtime New York! (Stage Roof and more)
LIVE MUSIC:
~ [TBA] (Stage Roof)
PERFORMANCE:
~ [TBA] (Last Frontier NYC)
WISE WORDS:
~ Fritjof Capra on the essential characteristics of life (Teepee @Last Frontier NYC)
Big props and thanks to our amazing co-hosts,
Broadway Stages, Newtown Creek Alliance, and Alive Structures!
WE ARE NATURE: Rising and Falling
Earth Ethics
Climate Week Event
Sat, Sep 23
A collaboration with the American-Indian Community House
Site-specific dances across urban meadows and Creekside
Rooftop Concert
Wise words by Fritjof Capra et al: Earth Ethics
DANCE:
[TBA]
LIVE MUSIC:
[TBA]
WE ARE NATURE: Rising and Falling
Open House New York
Sat, Oct 21 @NOoSPHERE Arts | @Last Frontier NYC | @Kingsland Wildflowers
Open House New York promotes unparalleled access to the city—to the places, people, projects, systems, and ideas that define New York and its future.
VISUAL ARTS:
~ Pop-up Exhibition (TBA)
~ Paintings (Last Frontier NYC)
~ Site-Specific Installation by KWBS Residency Award Winner (Upper Meadow)
DANCE:
~ It’s Showtime New York! (Stage Roof and more)
LIVE MUSIC and PERFORMANCE: (Last Frontier NYC)
~ [TBA]
WISE WORDS:
~ Fritjof Capra (Teepee @Last Frontier NYC)
Big props and thanks to our amazing co-hosts, Broadway Stages, Newton Creek Alliance and Alive Structures!
WE ARE NATURE 2022: Patterns of Connection
The 3rd iteration of our annual rooftop series combining Arts, Environmental Activism, and Community Building @ and around Kingsland Wildflowers @Broadway Stages, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NYC.
WE ARE NATURE: PATTERNS OF CONNECTION
Repopulations: New Horizons
OPENING: Fri, Sep 30, 6-10pm
CLOSING Reception: Saturday, October 22nd from 6-8 PM
Special Performance: Vital Cloak by Cristina Canepa: 5 PM & 7 PM
A site-specific group exhibition focused on environmental reflectiom open by appointment through the 23rd of October and for Open House New York: Email daniela.holban@noosphere-arts.nyc to reserve a private viewing
REPOPULATIONS: New Horizons is the second iteration of the Climate Week-inspired exhibition series REPOPULATIONS which focuses on environmentally-themed subjects and takes place yearly during the summer and early fall months. Curated by Daniela Holban, this exhibition is part of the larger NOoSPHERE Arts' WE ARE NATURE Series: art events that make full use of the unique stage setting of the Kingsland Wildflowers bird sanctuary at Broadway Stages in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, to engage a diverse audience in environmental efforts through art.
WE ARE NATURE: PATTERNS OF CONNECTION
Earth Ethics
Climate Week
Sat, Sep 24, 5:30-8:00pm
Site-specific dances across urban meadows curated by CreateART
Rooftop Concert by Duo Livia & Fred
Wise words by Fritjof Capra: Earth Ethics
DANCE:
~ Solo by Princess Lockeroo: Lotus
~ Choreography by Thryn Saxon: Mother Tongue | Performers:
Maggie Costales and Jamie Klienschnitz; Live Music by Bre Short
LIVE MUSIC: ~ Visiting from Brazil, Livia Nestrovski & Fred Ferreira form a dynamic duo of voice and electric guitar that is both subtle and virtuosic, experimental and elegant: the potency of a minimal set in a journey through old and new songs from Brazil and the World.
SECURE YOUR SPOT ON EVENTBRITE !!!
WE ARE NATURE 2022 is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC). Our programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
WE ARE NATURE 5/2022: PATTERNS OF CONNECTION
From New York to the Norwegain Woods
Fri, Sep 2, 7:30-10:30pm
Itonje Søimer Guttormsen: Gritt
Outdoor feature film screening + Q&A with filmmakerThe film follows the title character on her journey from Bushwick, Brooklyn, to Oslo and beyond. Gritt is on a passionate quest to manifest her performance, “The White Inflammation”, a radical collective ritual meant to pierce the complacent fog cloaking privileged Scandinavia. With each hurdle, Gritt grows more desperate, and her mission to bury capitalism and the patriarchy takes her to increasingly unexpected places. Pushed by forces beyond her control, Gritt finds her way into the deep forests, where nature opens hidden doors. | Secure your spot HERE !!!
WE ARE NATURE 2022 is sponsored, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts and also the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC). NOoSPHERE Arts’ 2022 programming is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
WE ARE NATURE: PATTERNS OF CONNECTION
Breakdown, Breakthrough
Sat, Aug 27, 7-9pm
Fritjof Capra: The Emergence of NoveltyGjert Rognli: What Nature Knows
Performance, Film, Photos, and Installation
Gjert Rognli’s project What Nature Knows - Dan maid luondu diehtá reflects a personal connection with Arctic Northern Norway – a region defined by light, darkness, and stark seasonal contrasts. Rognli, who hails from the Indigenous Sámi people, works across film, photography, sculpture, and performance, drawing on a passionate bond with the organic world. This multimedia project is a mythological journey into deep forests and across misty waterways—where surreal phenomena guide the viewer through the unknown.
Secure your spot HERE !!!
WE ARE NATURE 2022 is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC). Our programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
WE ARE NATURE: Wildflower festival
SATURDAY, JULY 25, 4:00-8:00PM
VISUAL ARTS:~ Print Show by Kingsland Editions (KWBS Community Room)
~ Paintings (Last Frontier NYC)
~ Site-Specific Installation by Sabrina Barrios (Upper Meadow)
DANCE (Curated by CreateART):
~ Stephen Shynes with Momentum (Stage Roof)
~ EB Dance (Middle Roof/Upper Meadow)
~ Nicki Miller and Benjamin E. Oyzon of Sticks & Stone
(Last Frontier NYC)
LIVE MUSIC:
~ Musical Resistance with dancers Oksana Horban & Dulce Crespo
( Stage Roof)
WISE WORDS:
~ Fritjof Capra on The Web of Life (Teepee @Last Frontier NYC)
SECURE YOUR SPOT ON EVENTBRITE !!!
WE ARE NATURE 2022 is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC). Our programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
WE ARE NATURE: PATTERNS OF CONNECTION
Nature’s Cycles
SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 6:00-10:00PM
Inti Raymi Indigenous Solstice Celebration:
Dance & music by Ñukanchik Llakta Wawakuna, Ñawpa Mashikuna, Pakarina Humbracuna, and Comunidad Andida from the Andes and local practitioners of Danza Mexica; concert by Afro-Cuban Melvis Santa & her band, La Rumba de Santa; and wise words on Nature’s Cycles by internationally renowned ecoliteracy scholar Fritjof Capra. Mensajes Espirituales by La Aurora, a Santera Mayor, on Wildflowers’ Lower Meadow. On the Upper Meadow, you can experience a site-specific installation by Brazilian artist Sabrina Barrios: an eco-feminist take on ancient celestial mythology.
WE ARE NATURE 2022 is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC). Our programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
WE ARE NATURE: PATTERNS OF CONNECTION
Water is Life
SATURDAY, MAY 28, 6:30-9:00PM
6:30pm -Doors Open; Musical Prelude by Singing Cellist Lenna Pierce
7:00pm Opening Dance Ceremony by
Thunderbirds Native-American Dancers
7:45pm Introduction by Fritjof Capra : Thoughts on Water
8:00pm Dance Performance by NVA & Guests, curated by CreateART
8:30pm Musical Postlude by Singing Cellist Lenna Pierce
On this opening night of our summer season, we are thrilled to announce Brazilian artist Sabrina Barrios as the inaugural winner of
Broadway Stages’ Residency Award @ Kingsland Wildflowers:
Her site-specific installation will remain on view on Upper Meadow throughout the evening and entire season.
WE ARE NATURE 2022 is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC). Our programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
RESERVE YOUR SPOT HERE !!!
WE ARE NATURE 2021: From Parts to Whole
The 2nd iteration of our annual rooftop series combining Arts, Environmental Activism, and Community Building @ and around Kingsland Wildflowers @Broadway Stages, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NYC.
WE ARE NATURE: FROM PARTS TO A WHOLE
Creekside Coda
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 6 – 7:30 PM
Creekside Bandstand behind Last Frontier NYC
Get ready to dance and celebrate with a last hurrah of summer at the closing of this year’s WE ARE NATURE Series! As a coda to the previous day’s multidisciplinary homage to the migration of monarchs from Mexico, NOoSPHERE Arts is pleased to present:
~ A butterfly-inspired opening act by dancer Alexandre Barranco
~ Our very own Hermanos Villalobos, this time with all three brothers united on one stage! Acclaimed as one of today’s leading Contemporary Mexican groups, the original compositions and arrangements of The Villalobos Brothers masterfully fuse and celebrate the richness of Mexican folk music with the intricate harmonies of jazz and classical music.
Better wear your dancing shoes – we wanna see everyone moving along the water! FREE ADMISSION with support from the New York City Artist Corps Program. Click for VIDEO !!!
WE ARE NATURE: FROM PARTS TO WHOLE
A MONARCH’S JOURNEY
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 3 - 6PM
NOoSPHERE Arts’ Stage Roof | Kingsland Wildflowers
Presented by NOoSPHERE Arts and Newton Creek Alliance
in collaboration with CreateART as part of citywide Insectageddon events sponsored by The High Line, NYC; also featured in
CEC ArtsLink’s Art Prospect Festival 2021: Forms of Unity
3 PM-4 PM (KW Rooftop to Paige Ave)
5 PM-6 PM (Paige Ave to KW Rooftop)
An immersive site-specific dance & music performance among the wildflowers of industrial Greenpoint inspired by the migration of Monarchs from their overwintering home in Mexico up to Canada and back again. Choreographers: Rebecca Margolick (Canada) + Erick Montes (Mexico). Specially composed musical narrative: Katy Gunn
This project will also be featured virtually in St. Petersburg, Russia, as part of the 8th Art Prospect International Public Art Festival
A Climate Week Event — Click for VIDEO !!!
WE ARE NATURE 4/2021: UNEARTHED
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 6 - 10PM
NOoSPHERE Arts’ Stage Roof below Kingsland Wildflowers
~ In response to popular demand, another round of Jester Eggs:
a humorous homage to the digester eggs looming behind our
Stage Roof. Concept, costumes and choreography: Molly Gorin
Dancers: Molly Gorin + Liz Hepp
~ Unearthed by IDA: Isabel Umali (dancer) & Dustin Carlson (guitar/composition) + artists Lauryn Hayes (dancer) and
Lathan Hardy (saxophone). Created specifically for our Back Roof
with its backdrop of monumental recycling plants.
~ Cavalcade of SHORT FILMS: Adele Fournet; Marita Isobel Solberg; Pierre Lionel Matte; Gjert Rognli; Jannicke Låker; Maximilien Luc; Espen Tversland; Rich Blundell (Oika); and Sichong Xie,
followed by Q & A with some of these international filmmakers.
GET YOUR TICKETS ON EVENTBRITE !!!
WE ARE NATURE: FROM PARTS TO A WHOLE
Urban Wildlife
SATURDAY, AUGUST 28, 6 - 10PM
NOoSPHERE Arts’ Stage Roof below Kingsland Wildflowers
Site-specific, outdoor dance performance: NEST, Vol 2
Director and Creator: Kelly Ashton Todd
Performers: Jennifer Payán and Kevin Pajarillaga
Musical Accompaniment: Christiaan van Voorst van Beest
Choreography: Jennifer Payán, Kevin Pajarillaga & Kelly Ashton Todd
Producers: Kevin Specter, Tracy Grogan, and Amelia Tsai
Costume Design: Allison Dyke
Opening and closing ceremonies: Sparrowhawk
Native plant & feather installation: seeds grown on site donated by Kingsland Wildflowers + materials provided by Vanishing Point Farm .
After sunset screening of Under Review: Katahdin, Vol. 2 in environmental dance film series that brings awareness to the public lands threatened by industrial development.
Generously supported by Lisa & Mike Springle
GET YOUR TICKETS ON EVENTBRITE !!!
WE ARE NATURE: FROM PARTS TO A WHOLE
Pride
FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 7 - 9PM
Creekside behind Last Frontier NYC
Queen Robert announces:
~ An excerpt from Cory and Smin's Love Conquers the Earth,
an eco-medy by Billy McEntee directed by Charles Quittner |
Co-produced by Nick Auer
Design by Rodrigo Hernandez Martinez
Featuring Rob Christie; E.B. Hinnant & Declan Zhang
~ A cavalcade of environmentally-conscious bits by Fantasy Grandma;
Chris of Hur; and our "ever-green" emcee Queen Robert
~ Pinc Louds: fun tunes for fun times on our outdoor dance floor
by the river -- bring your DANCING SHOES !!!
GET YOUR TICKETS @ EventBrite !!!
WE ARE NATURE: FROM PARTS TO A WHOLE
Season Opening 2021
10th Anniversary Celebration
SUNDAY, JUNE 6, 6 - 10 PM @, above and around Last Frontier NYC
FYI: GATES CLOSE @ 7:15PM — STRAGGLERS ARE OUT OF LUCK!
~ Dance collaborations across our roofs:
Brianna Taylor/Confluence Performance Project with live music by Nico Tower + Maira Duarte/Dance to the People
~ Reveal of site‐specific sculpture for Kingsland Wildflowers by Yvonne Shortt in collaboration with Anhkhlave Arts Alliance
~ Live music acts against the Manhattan Skyline:
Katy Gunn ; Matapena and more…
~ Silent auction of artworks by international NOoSPHERE Artists
~ After party: Let’s dance by the Creek with joyful La Banda Chuska !
All proceeds to benefit our WE ARE NATURE programming:
This summer, our rooftop series will feature live music, dance performances, theater, performance art, visual art, a short-film festival, and lectures by international luminaries. Please keep returning to this page for a continuously updated calendar of events, or sign up for our mailing list here.
FOR TICKETS, PLEASE GO TO EventBrite !!!
WE ARE NATURE 2020: Air + Water
The 1st iteration of our annual rooftop series combining Arts, Environmental Activism, and Community Building @ and around Kingsland Wildflowers @Broadway Stages, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NYC.
WE ARE NATURE: AIR + WATER
Rooftop Series Follow Up & Reflection Hour 2020
Mon, Nov 30
As a counterbalance to the consumption-driven madness that is Cyber Monday, our team of artists and activists invited the public to a moment of shared reflection on our fragile reality:
~ Q & A with renowned Activist, Scientist and Author Fritjof Capra on his methods and thoughts around climate awareness
~ Discussion with choreographers Kelly Ashton Todd and Cameron KcKinney on their process of creating site-specific works for this unique setting
~ Live water-themed musical act by singer-songwriter Katy Gunn
Recording of 2-hour zoom session available here.
WE ARE NATURE: AIR + WATER
Water
Sun, Sep 27
Site-specific dance piece inspired by Newton Creek by Kizuna Dance and live music by singing cellist Lenna Pierce
WE ARE NATURE: AIR + WATER
Air
Sun, Sep 13
Site-specific dance piece inspired by bird migration by Kelly Ashton Todd with live music by Christiaan van Voorst van Beest; opening & closing ceremonies by Sparrowhawk & Lady Kabbaz.
PHOTOS by Effy Grey
REVIEW: Dance Europe Oct/Nov 2020 | Trina Mannino, “ WE ARE NATURE @ LAST FRONTIER NYC”
VIDEO DOCUMENTATION:
