Navigating Climate Change is a new body of mixed media work responding to the climate crisis. The history of this project goes back to 2016 when a studio assistant traveled to Micronesia as part of the Peace Corps and raised my consciousness of that geography.

That work, entitled Navigation Series, preceded the current one, and was inspired by my long-time fascination with Micronesian navigation stick charts. Once used by Micronesian seafarers, the charts, actually studies of Pacific swell patterns and island locations, helped mariners navigate the waters in and around the region by canoe.

After completing that earlier series, I learned that the islands of Micronesia are in danger of being submerged due to ever-rising sea levels. I decided to create Navigating Climate Change to bring attention to the devastation that the climate crisis is bringing to a head, not only in the Pacific Islands but around the world. 

I am pleased that this work will be exhibited in two venues. Larger works, selected by curator Nancy Sausser, will be installed at Joe’s Movement Emporium in Mt. Rainier, Maryland from April 22 through June 19, 2021. In addition to the works on view, the exhibition is accompanied by a short video call-to-action underscoring the power of art and artists in the environmental cause. I was pleased to work with video artist and editor Tim McLoraine to complete this component of the project. It can be here.  

Smaller works from the series are on view at the McLean Project for the Arts in McLean, Virginia from April 1 through June 10, 2021.

Artist Talk with Alonzo Davis will be June 3, 2021 at 7pm at Joe’s Movement Emporium

Navigating Climate Change is supported through funding from Prince George’s County Arts and Humanities Council, the fiscal sponsorship of Joe’s Movement Emporium, and the generosity of dozens of individual supporters.