Climate change and its effects can feel overwhelming, intangible, and disempowering. Through activation, object or gesture, artists have the power to access a personal entry point and deepen individual understanding of issues that impact us the most: the air we breathe, the water we drink, the ecological systems by which we live.

In May, artists Rebecca Bruno, Nova Jiang, and Debra Scacco began a six-month residency at Los Angeles Clean Teach Incubator (LACI) located in the Arts District. The residency supports artists’ research on climate change, sustainability, and related themes. In Archeology of the Present, the three resident artists join in conversation with Megan Steinman, director of the Underground Museum, to discuss how to respond to global environmental issues in their work.

About the artists’ projects Dance artist and sculptor Rebecca Bruno has hosted a series of awareness and movement workshops inspired by the regenerative nature of permaculture. She has utilized the facilities to trace and make tangible the physicality of this movement.

Multiple media artist Nova Jiang uses rapid prototyping to realize multiple projects inspired by the transience of the contemporary built environment.

Debra Scacco is an artist, curator, and founder of the LACI AIR program. LACI resources have enabled her to deepen her research on river, highway, and transit lines of Los Angeles; exploring ways to physically articulate the lines of the city’s past, present, and future.

Moderator Megan Steinman is an independent curator and Director of The Underground Museum.

About LACI and the AIR program Los Angeles Clean Teach Incubator (LACI) is a state-of-the-art facilities lab and hub to support innovative green technology start-ups and community networks located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles’ Arts District. AIR enhances LACI’s innovation community by introducing research-led artists to a thriving environment: where entrepreneurs, engineers, organizations and policy makers collaborate, promote and support the development of clean technologies. AIR supports Los Angeles based artists whose work addresses agriculture, environment, energy, transportation, waste, water and related themes. In bringing together thought leaders from various disciplines, AIR aligns expertise, experience, creativity and innovation to address urgent global environmental problems.