River To River 2020: Four Voices – Resources for Action + Additional Reading

In the projects presented as part of River To River 2020: Four Voices, the artists have explored personal and structural vulnerability within the systems that connect us all, while creating space for contemplation, reflection and participation. These public artworks embrace the power of the individual within the larger community, not as an ideal, but as a vehicle of thought and action.
Below, you will find resources for action as well as additional reading for Jean Shin's Floating MAiZE + The Last Straw and Asiya Wadud's ECHO EXHIBIT.
Jean Shin’s projects The Last Straw and Floating MAiZE make tangible the enormous impact of single-use plastic on our environment. There are steps you can take right now to reduce household waste and support sustainable initiatives in New York. Your commitment ensures a brighter, cleaner future for our city and the planet.
Resources for Action
Jean Shin: Floating MAiZE + The Last Straw
Support Sure We Can Recycling Center
Sure We Can is a recycling center, community space, and sustainability hub that transforms consumer waste into valuable resources. Based in Brooklyn, Sure We Can is Jean Shin’s local resource for the recyclable bottles that make up Floating MAiZE. Contribute to the #60MillionCans community campaign.
Make a Reusable Mask out of Upcycled Fabric
Materials for the Arts is New York City's leading creative reuse center, which provides arts nonprofits, public schools and City agencies with access to free materials. While material donations are currently closed due to COVID-19, MFTA is offering online educational resources, including a no-sew mask tutorial with Executive Director Harriet Taub.
Learn How To Recycle E-Waste
Lower East Side Ecology Center’s e-waste warehouse is in danger of closing. Write to your local council member and ask for their support of this important NYC resource, and in the meantime, learn how to reuse and recycle unwanted electronics with this how-to guide.
Further Reading from the ECHO EXHIBIT Poets
Alisha Mascarenhas, Diving, CBC Nonfiction Prize shortlist. 2017 (read)
Asiya Wadud, Crosslight for Youngbird, Nightboat Books. 2018 (purchase). and SYNCOPE, Ugly Duckling Presse. 2019 (purchase)
Chia-Lun Chang, If I Were Born in America, Ugly Duckling Presse. 2018 (purchase)
Lara Atallah, Edge of Elysium, Vol.1, Open Projects Press. 2019 (purchase)
Madison McCartha, FREAKOPHONE WORLD, Tarpaulin Sky. 2019 (read)
Rebekah Smith, Ova Completa, by Susana Thénon, tr. Rebekah Smith. Ugly Duckling Presse. 2020 (purchase)
Sevinç Çalhanoğlu, Et / ve / Fal, Heterotopia Yayinlari. 2017 (purchase) and My life in curves, Bored Wolves. 2020 (purchase)
