Madison Square Park Conservancy is proud to present New York City’s first Tempestry Collection. Part of the nationwide Tempestry Project, a collaborative fiber arts initiative that turns climate data into striking visual and tactile works, this collection offers a unique, hands-on perspective on environmental change.
Created by a community of volunteer knitters, the project features sixteen hand-knitted panels or “tempestries,” each depicting a full year of the city’s daily temperature data rendered into various colors. The collection weaves together climate storytelling and civic history. The sixteen years selected, one from each decade spanning from 1870 to the present, highlight pivotal moments in Madison Square Park’s evolution, from its 19th-century redesign to the first public Christmas tree lighting in 1912 to its recognition as an accredited Level 2 Arboretum in 2018.
The Tempestry Project is personal and collaborative fiber art, environmental awareness, and climate activism via data representation all rolled into a sprawling community of friends, artists, crafters, teachers, scientists, activists, nature lovers, and more.
One of the ongoing problems inherent in discussions about climate change is the vast scale of the conversation. The Tempestry Project’s goal is to scale this down into something that is accurate, tangible, relatable, and beautiful. Blending fiber art with temperature data creates a bridge between global climate and our own personal experiences through knitted, crocheted, and woven temperature tapestries, or ‘Tempestries.’
In partnership with the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, MSPC will present the installation at the Arts Center at Governors Island from May through the summer season.