Exhibition & events

Hunter College’s Leubsdorf Gallery will open Climates of Inequality: Stories of Environmental Justice on August 31, 2026, a new exhibition from the Humanities Action Lab (HAL) that traces the roots of environmental injustice and the strategies communities are building in response. Co-created by students and frontline communities from 23 cities across the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean, the exhibition brings together original research, oral histories, and community-generated media into a single, connected story of resistance, resilience, and mitigation.

Rather than presenting the climate crisis as one uniform threat, Climates of Inequality shows how its effects are shaped by histories of racial and economic inequality — and how the communities most affected are also leading some of the most inventive organizing and adaptation efforts underway today. Visitors will encounter stories ranging from grassroots organizing to community-led environmental monitoring, including an immersive VR feature documenting Mayagüez, Puerto Rico’s fight for environmental justice.

Climates of Inequality is on view in two New York City locations: the Leubsdorf Gallery in Hunter College’s Hunter West Building (132 East 68th Street, New York, NY 10065) and the main lobby of the Silberman School of Social Work in East Harlem (2180 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10035) from August 31, 2026 through February 26, 2027. Admission is free and both venues are open to the public. Guests interested in a guided tour or workshop should contact humanitiesactionlab@gmail.com to schedule one.

12:30pm: lunch, installation
1pm: Panel
Tali Natter, WE ACT for Environmental Justice
Valentina Rojas, WE ACT for Environmental Justice
Liz Sevcenko, Humanities Action Lab at Hunter College
Taina Traverso, East Harlem community leader
2:30pm: East Harlem Toxic Tour
Caleb Smith, WE ACT for Environmental Justice
Mehdi P. Heris, Hunter College Department of Urban Policy and Planning
3:30pm: Walking tour ends at 125th & Lex 4/5/6 train

Join WE ACT for Environmental Justice and Hunter College for an interactive event around data collection and mixed-media storytelling on extreme heat in NYC. Attendees will directly engage with research projects such as an interactive extreme heat storymap with video testimony; a participatory action research project exploring how extreme heat is impacting the physical, mental, and financial health of 31 residents in Harlem; and Climates of Inequality, a multi-media installation created by environmental justice communities including virtual reality “visits” to critical sites from Miami to Mayaguez. We will discuss how best to share findings in interactive ways and how to use these projects to mobilize around issues of extreme heat. The event will conclude with a walking tour that will physically explore the impact of environmental and climate justice in East Harlem and some of the work we have done in the community.

RSVP by September 22, bring photo ID. Light lunch provided