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An Aesthetics of Resilience

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An Aesthetics of Resilience is a collaborative research initiative of the Institute of the Arts and Sciences and the Friedlaender Lab at UC Santa Cruz. The project brings scientists, artists, humanists, and activists together to examine multiple experiences of vulnerability in the face of climate change. With original research, newly commissioned artworks, exhibitions, and a series of public programs, the initiative is designed to transform understanding about the cascading—and connected—social, political, and environmental challenges affecting our lives.

Libia Posada, a Colombian Artist, has taken photographs of legs on which maps are drawn

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Affiliated Scientific Research (Tab to skip section.)

Affiliated Scientific Research

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Our Team

woman with dark hair , heavy black glasses frames, and dressed in all black leans against a white wall.

Rachel Nelson

Director and Chief Curator; Co-Director, Visualizing Abolition; Co-Director, Aesthetics of Resilience

bearded man with orange snow cap and orange jacket in front of iceburg

Ari Friedlaender

Co-Director, An Aesthetics of Resilience, Professor, Ocean Science and Institute of Marine Sciences

Chloe Lew

Graduate Student Researcher, An Aesthetics of Resilience

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Press

Aric Sleeper

University of California, state partner to award climate action grants, Santa Cruz Sentinel, September 7, 2023

Allison Arteaga Soergel

Five UC Santa Cruz projects win California Climate Action Grant funding, UCSC News center, August 31, 2023

An Aesthetics of Resilience is organized by Rachel Nelson and Ari Friedlaender and supported by a University of California Office of the President California Climate Action Seed Grant, with additional support from the Coha Nowark Art + Science Fund.