Previous Exhibition View of COAL + ICE

Asia Society will present COAL + ICE, an immersive photography and video exhibition accompanied by a series of related programs in New York. COAL + ICE visualizes the causes and consequences of the climate crisis and foregrounds creative solutions.

The exhibition brings together the work of more than 50 photographers from China and around the world, and traces a photographic arc from deep within 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 more than a century. Through intimate portraits and vast altered landscapes, these photographs document the consequences triggered by their continued reliance on fossil fuels. The exhibition brings to life the environmental and human costs of climate change, while also highlighting the innovative solutions that provide hope for a more sustainable future. COAL + ICE is co-curated by Magnum photographer Susan Meiselas and international exhibition designer Jeroen de Vries, and led by Orville Schell, Asia Society Vice President and Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations.

Previous Exhibition View of COAL + ICE

In 2024, climate change will take center stage at Asia Society. A series of speaker events, performances, films, and more will take place throughout the run of the exhibition. Asia Society will join forces with a network of partner organizations across New York City’s five boroughs to concurrently present exhibitions and events, expanding the conversation to inspire deeper engagement on how the climate crisis affects the global and local communities.

About COAL + ICE

COAL + ICE is a project of the Asia Society which premiered at Three Shadows Photography Art Centre in Beijing in 2011. Since its inception, the exhibition has traced a photographic arc from deep within the coal mines to the greater Himalaya where greenhouse gasses are warming the high altitude climate and melting the glaciers at an accelerated pace, disturbing the great rivers of Asia that flow from the Tibetan Plateau, with extreme consequences for the billions of people downstream. COAL + ICE has traveled across China and around the world, using art to highlight the need for collaboration between the largest global carbon emitters – the U.S. and China – in addressing the climate challenge. In 2018, COAL + ICE made its U.S. premiere at San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture as a fully immersive experience, and expanded its imagery to visualize the global consequences of the climate crisis. COAL + ICE is overseen by Orville Schell, the Arthur Ross Director of Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations.

About the Exhibition

Dates: 13 February – 11 August, 2024

Venue: Asia Society New York

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, Clifford Ross, 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

Courtesy Asia Society New York.