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.

Curious about climate assemblies? Join us during Climate Week NYC to celebrate the CUNY Climate Assembly Project on Waste at Hunter College.

In spring 2026, The Center for the Humanities at the CUNY Graduate Center and Hunter College made history, convening the first university climate assembly in the US. CCAP gathered a group of 43 Hunter College and 14 CUNY Graduate Center students for nine sessions over three months to assess and improve waste management strategies on campus. Through this process, they built community, gained democratic experience, and honed their collective vision toward the common good. Join us Tue, Sep 22nd at Hunter College during Climate Week NYC to celebrate the CUNY Climate Assembly Project on Waste at Hunter College (CCAP)!

A climate assembly brings together a randomly selected, demographically representative group of participants to study all sides of a pressing environmental problem, deliberate on possible solutions, and develop policy recommendations. The model broadens mass engagement, deepens public understanding of the assembly topic, and removes barriers to civic participation and decision-making. While assemblies generate creative solutions and community engagement from the ground up, their full impact ultimately depends on how institutions respond to the recommendations.

Come learn about CCAP and its impact directly from Student Assembly Delegates, Hunter College and CUNY Graduate Center Leadership, and experts in diverse sectors reimagining democracy, sustainability, and the humanities as key tools for social flourishing in the age of climate change. Students will reflect on the democratic process, share assembly’s recommendations for sustainable waste strategies at Hunter, and chart the path ahead.

After the event, please join us for a reception in the Leubsdorf Gallery (West Building) to mingle and view the current exhibition Climates of Inequality: Stories of Environmental Injustice.

Free and open to the public, this event will take place in Hemmerdinger, East Building, Screening Room 706, Hunter College.

Speakers:
Nancy Cantor
President of Hunter College

Joshua C. Brumberg
President of the CUNY Graduate Center

Gianpaolo Baiocchi
Director of Urban Democracy Lab, NYU

Kelli Stephens
Sustainability and Energy Specialist at Hunter College, CCAP Administration Lead

Kendra Sullivan
NYC CJH Co-Director, CUNY

Annie Stoeth
CCAP Curriculum Development Fellow

Aisha Yildirim
Post Assembly Fellow

​​Maria Sophia “Pia” Valencia
Post Assembly Fellow

Constance Zogzas
Post Assembly Fellow

Nathaniel Levin
Sustainability Council Member, Hunter College

Erica Kong
Post Assembly Fell

Danielle Jordan
Post Assembly Fellow

Read the full report of the students’ recommendations here

Hunter College Student Assembly Delegates and CUNY Graduate Small Group Facilitators (TBD).

Read more here about CCAP and how Hunter College students have spent months studying the way waste moves through campus and are now preparing to help turn their ideas into action: “Student-Led Waste Assembly Recommends New Ways for Hunter To Go Greener“

“The assembly is a proof of concept: With enough time for deliberation, space for learning, and support for the implementation process, students can enjoy the social, environmental, and educational benefits of democratic engagement as part of their college experience.” –Kendra Sullivan, Director of the Center for the Humanities

Visit our website here for more informaiton about this event.

RSVP

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

Join us for a day of dialogue, community, and healing

October 7, 2026 8:30-4:30

Hunter College, West Lobby
East 68th St. + Lexington Avenue, New York City
Breakfast and lunch provided

Meet community visionaries from Miami to Minneapolis to Mayagüez, and join forces to address the histories and legacies of:

• climate and environmental justice
• mass incarceration
• displacement from urban renewal

Bring your class and your colleagues for a day of activities including:
exploring the collective multi-media installations States of Incarceration, Climates of Inequality, and The Renewal Project, and
meet the community creators:

• envisioning new participatory public memory projects around climate/environmental justice, criminal legal system, and urban renewal
• engaging in collective healing practices

RSVP HERE