Washington, D.C.
The REACH at the Kennedy Center
March 15 – April 23, 2022
Presented by Asia Society in collaboration with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
COAL + ICE is an immersive documentary photography exhibition that brings together the work of over 50 photographers from around the world to visualize the climate crisis.
COAL + ICE traces a photographic arc from deep within the coal mines to the melting glaciers of the greater Himalaya, and across the globe where rising sea levels and extreme weather events are wreaking havoc. The imagery in COAL + ICE is drawn from diverse materials, from glass plate negatives to smartphone videos, spanning over a century. Through intimate portraits and vast altered landscapes, these photographs document our relationship to fossil fuels and the consequences triggered by this continued reliance.
COAL + ICE brings the environmental and human costs of climate change to life through images, videos, and insightful events. A vibrant six-week programming series transformed the center of the exhibition into a stage for music, performance, panel discussions, art-making and more.
DC Events
COAL + ICE in D.C. centered around a vibrant six-week festival of climate-related events, including music, theater, panel discussions, art-making and more. Interventions by guest artists engaged local, national, and global communities, inviting audiences of all ages to join the climate conversation and seek new solutions.
The Photographers
Bernd and Hilla Becher
Daniel Beltrá
Noah Berger
Matt Black
David Breashears
Robert Capa
Jimmy Chin
Bruce Davidson
Cameron Davidson
John Davies
Willem Diepraam
Anna Filipova
Stuart Franklin
Sean Gallagher
Geng Yunsheng
Josh Haner
Lewis Hine
Thomas Hoepker
David Hurn
Joris Ivens
Nico Jesse
Meridith Kohut
Barbara Kopple
Gleb Kosorukov
Dolf Kruger
Dana Lixenberg
George Mallory
Gideon Mendel
Niu Guozheng
Darcy Padilla
Gordon Parks
Camille Seaman
Vittorio Sella
David Seymour
Eugene Smith
Nichole Sobecki
Song Chao
Jamey Stillings
Henri Storck
Ian Teh
Peter van Agtmael
Kadir van Lohuizen
Robert Wallis
Wang Mianli
Major E. O. Wheeler
Witho Worms
Wu Qi
Yang Junpo
Yu Haibo
Washington, D.C Community Partners
In addition to activating the REACH campus, COAL + ICE joined forces with a wide range of artistic, environmental, and service organizations. While COAL + ICE was on view at the Kennedy Center, these organizations concurrently presented climate-related programs to diverse audiences across all eight wards and the broader DMV region. These collaborations inspired deeper engagement and meaningful dialogue on how the climate crisis affects our global and local communities. Check out the archived digital version of our Community Partners Map here.
Supporters
Lead support for COAL + ICE provided by Berkeley Research Group, Ford Foundation, Frankenthaler Foundation, Janet Ross, Morgan Stanley, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Major support is provided by Anonymous, Betsy and Edward Cohen, Frank and Susan Brown, Lulu and Anthony Wang, Parnassus Foundation, Robert and Kate Niehaus, and Stephen Silberstein.
Generous support is provided by Hal and Ruth Newman.
Additional support is provided by Denise and Andrew Saul, Elizabeth Webber, Jane Shaw, Lapgong Leong, Maria Wilhelm, and Stephanie Hui.
Special Thanks to Nora Halpern, Gary Hirshberg, Nancy Stephens, Michael Tilson Thomas, Alice Waters, and Lana Wong.
COAL + ICE Team
Orville Schell
Executive Producer
Jeroen de Vries
Co-Curator / Exhibition Designer
Susan Meiselas
Co-Curator
Leah Thompson
Producer
Jillian Schultz
Producer
Chris Hammer
Technical Director
Rachel Rosado
Programming & Events Lead
Don Kahler
Audio Visual Engineering Lead
Noopur Agarwal
Graphic Design Lead
Sarah Adelman
Graphic Designer
Julie Rosing
Social Media Strategist
Wolf Hertzberg
Research Lead / Photographer
Svetlana Legetic
Strategic Partnerships
Carolyn Sams
Marketing & Communications Strategist
Mark Glynne
Soundtrack Designer
Jim French
Lighting Designer
Tara Nuth Kajtaniak
Education Coordinator
Tamara Rice
Web Developer
COAL + ICE Programming Consortium
Orville Schell
Arthur Ross Director, Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations
Rachel Cooper
Director, Culture as Diplomacy Initiative
Cynthia Schneider
Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy; Co-Director, Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics Georgetown University
Derek Goldman, Ph.D.
Chair, Department of Performing Arts; Director, Theater & Performance Studies Program; Co-Director, Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, Georgetown University
Peter P Marra, Ph.D.
Director, Georgetown Environment Initiative; Laudato Si’ Professor of Biology and the Environment; Georgetown University
Alicia Adams
Vice President, International Programming and Dance, The Kennedy Center
Gilda Almeida
Director, International Programing, The Kennedy Center
Caitlin Nasema Cassidy
Artist-in-Residence, ECo Institute; Inaugural Fellow, Lab for Global Performance and Politics
Rachel Rosado
Associate Director, Global Arts, Asia Society
Mary Kay Magistad
Associate Director, U.S. Programs, Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations
Leah Thompson
Co-Principal, Two Tigers Productions
Jillian Schultz
Co-Principal, Two Tigers Productions
Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations
Orville Schell
Arthur Ross Director
Susan Jakes
Editor, ChinaFile
Jessica Batke
Senior Editor, ChinaFile
Mary Kay Magistad
Associate Director
Ouyang Bin
Associate Director, China Programs
Sara Segal-Williams
Assistant Director
Jeffrey Sequeira
Assistant Director
Asia Society Digital and Communications
Elaine Merguerian
Director, Communications and Marketing
Dan Washburn
Executive Director and Chief Content Officer
Michelle FlorCruz
Social Media and Digital Content Manager
Megan MacMurray
Associate Director, User Experience and Technical Development
“if you can present something that is telling at the same time it’s beautiful then maybe you’ll get them to look whereas otherwise they might not choose to look.”
— Orville Schell
