About CoolGlobes
From June-September 2007, the City of Chicago was host to “CoolGlobes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet,” an innovative project that uses the medium of public art to inspire individuals and organizations to take action against global warming.
The exhibit featured over 100 sculpted globes, each five feet in diameter, displayed along Chicago’s lakefront from The Field Museum north and at Navy Pier. Artists from around the world, including Jim Dine, Yair Engel, Tom Van Sant and Juame Plensa, designed the globes, using a variety of materials to transform their plain white sphere to create awareness and provoke discussion about potential solutions to global warming.
Leading by example, CoolGlobes is a carbon neutral project. To offset the carbon emitted from the energy needed to create and maintain the exhibit and related events, CoolGlobes has developed a diversified strategy that includes donated “green tags” (renewable energy certificates), investments to plant trees and foster environmentally friendly agricultural practices, and in-kind donations from alternative energy companies.
CoolGlobes was launched in Chicago because of the City’s leadership and dedication to promoting environmentally sound policies. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley’s goal is to make our city the greenest in the nation through the promotion of environmental programs and practices, including a bike initiative, adding hybrid buses to the city’s mass transit system, and building “green” libraries, public schools and police stations. Mayor Daley is serving as honorary co-chair of the CoolGlobes project.
CoolGlobes also features 200 mini-globes designed by some of the same artists who are working on the full-size globes, as well as by celebrities, including actor Chris O’Donnell, U.S. Senator Barack Obama and documentary filmmaker Ken Burns. Students participating in Chicago’s After School Matters Gallery 37 after-school arts program for teens designed 40 of the mini-globes.
The CoolGlobes project has been underwritten by a variety of corporate and individual sponsors, including Exelon, Pepsi, Medline, Abbott, Toyota and Hyatt.
FOCUSING ON SOLUTIONS
The popularity of Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” has led to growing public concern about the issue of global warming. CoolGlobes leverages this heightened awareness by using the medium of public art to unite corporate, government and nonprofit organizations in issuing a call-to-action to encourage changes in day-to-day lifestyle and business operations that will reduce adverse environmental impact.
COOLGLOBES IS COMPRISED OF MULTIPLE COMPONENTS THAT WILL HELP ACHIEVE ITS GOAL.
Special Events
In addition to the art exhibit, CoolGlobes is hosting a variety of special events to build awareness and encourage action to reduce global warming. These include:
- June 1 public grand opening celebration
- June 2 fundraising gala at The Field Museum, featuring Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as the keynote speaker.
- July 11 business leaders roundtable during which CEOs and other senior-level leaders from CoolGlobes’ corporate sponsors shared ideas for environmentally sensitive business practices, as well as strategies for developing and marketing green products.
- October 5 auction of the globes will benefit environmental education programs, including the expansion of Chicago Conservation Clubs in Chicago Public Schools.
Education Initiatives
CoolGlobes includes a variety of tools to raise awareness of solutions to global warming among children and adults.
- Cool Globes for Cool Kids contest in which local children design their own mini papier-mâché globes and learn about solutions to global warming. These mini-globes are featured in an interactive exhibit this summer at the Chicago Children’s Museum.
- SchoolGlobes Curriculum provides teachers with lesson plans and ideas for teaching children about the global warming.
For more information about CoolGlobes please contact megan.coolglobes@gmail.com
