Photos and video: Sarah Sandman and Stephanie Ewens
Our Wake Up Call
Our Wake Up Call is a climate justice procession linking significant public spaces in Providence, RI.
Conceptualized by TED Senior Fellow Sarah Sandman and RISD professor Jessica Brown, it is led by the Clam Jam Brass Band – an all womxn brass band.
Dressed in climate justice warrior tracksuits, the procession starts at the historic Esek Hopkins House, former homestead of the captain of the first slave ship Sally and one of the most profitable slave owners in the United States, and finishes in front of a recently completed mural by local artists of color that spells “VOTE” – acknowledging voting as a critical way for the community to advocate for the planet.
Our Wake Up Call highlights the environmental injustices, including climate change, that have a disproportionate effect on communities of color and low income communities in the United States and around the world.
The work is also part of the Wide Awakes movement that organizes a nationwide network of artists, cultural workers and activists in hopes of fighting injustice and getting out the vote in the lead up to the 2020 US presidential election.
Artists, educators, city leaders and advocates for racial and environmental justice will give educational and motivational speeches at each stop in the procession.
“In the COVID-19 pandemic context, we see an urgent need for collective joy, and view music and dance as the best recipe to get people activated, interested, and motivated to produce change.”
This work is part of our global art action with Countdown, TED’s global initiative to champion and accelerate solutions to the climate crisis. We worked with a group of TED Fellows on ten public artworks, all launching on 10.10.2020 in ten cities around the world. The goal – to raise awareness for Countdown, while translating key climate issues in ways that spur imaginations and trigger participation. See all projects here.
THE ARTISTS
Photo: Bret Hartman / TED
Sarah Sandman is an Brooklyn-based design director, artist and activist creating experiences that amplify messages of social change. She is the founder and co-director of Brick x Brick, an art performance project that builds human walls against Trump and misogyny. Sandman is a 2017 Senior TED Fellow and holds an MFA in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design.
Sandman’s other work includes the Gift Cycle, in which she helped neighboring U.S. communities exchange gifts of art during a cross country cycling journey. Sandman created and facilitated Hostos Hands Up, a collaboration between Hostos Community College's Black Studies program and Media Design program to design protest signs for the NYC Millions March. Sandman’s work has been displayed at The Museum of the City of New York, The New York Historical Society, Smack Mellon, The Wassaic Project and The Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Jessica Brown is a multidisciplinary, multimedia spectacle generator, creating disruptive & humorous work, steeped in pop culture references. She’s a visual and performance artist, designer, entertainer, musician, and world builder — curated and unscripted. She’s a professor in Industrial Design at Rhode Island of Design.
In her own multidisciplinary work, she creates flexible environments that facilitates an inclusive space to explore, reflect, & discuss the challenges of social justice concerns in the US- including race politics, class,gender and overlays her own cultural commentary. She is very active in the local Providence community. She is the leader and musician of a womxn’s activist and party band, Clam Jam Brass Band, and musical director of Brick x Brick. Long story short, she likes to talk about serious things in a silly way.