Earth Day 2026: How Art and Activism Are Changing the World

I sit down with Evan Raskin, National Campaign Manager for Earthday.org, to explore the powerful relationship between art and environmental activism. Evan shares how artists have been central to the Earth Day movement since its very first gathering in 1970 and how creative expression continues to drive climate action today.

Evan shares his own life as an artist and how art helps him find harmony in a world full of dissonance. We discuss why collective action — starting at the local level — matters more than ever.

🔗 Find Earth Day events in your community: earthday.org 🎵 Find Evan's music on Spotify: search Raskin 🌍 Learn more about the Global Halt street art project: search #EarthDay2020Halt

Timestamped Highlights

[00:00] I introduce the episode and its Earth Day theme

[01:03] Why I'm dropping this episode now: Earth Day is right around the corner

[01:34] I introduce my guest, Evan Raskin, National Campaign Manager for Earthday.org

[02:03] We introduce this year's Earth Day theme: Our Power, Our Planet

[03:22] I ask Evan what a National Campaign Manager actually does — he breaks down his role

[05:03] I learn that Evan is also a musician, painter, and poet — and just published his first book!

[05:43] I ask Evan which art form he turns to when he needs release — his answer about music and rhythm is beautiful

[07:29] Evan explains how art can open perspectives, build empathy, and call people to civic action

[10:54] I ask Evan about his origin story: growing up with a Hollywood hairdresser mom and a Cirque du Soleil / hospital clown dad

[13:13] Evan tells me how a required college art class unlocked his visual creativity

[14:08] Evan makes the case that everyone has latent creative potential — and why you should just pick up that paintbrush

[15:15] I share my recent conversation with scientist Daisy Fancourt and her book Art Cure — even 10–15 minutes of creativity a day has measurable benefits

[16:27] I ask Evan how he came to work at Earth Day — it started with a college internship phasing out single-use plastics at the British Embassy

[17:49] Evan walks me through the history of Earth Day and how the 1970 movement used art, music, and protest to spark real policy change

[22:23] I'm amazed to learn that the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the EPA were all born from Earth Day 1970

[22:48] We do a deep dive into this year's theme: Our Power, Our Planet and what it means at every level

[25:51] I bring up the current political climate — Evan responds with hope, local action, and the wisdom of Fred Rogers: "Look for the helpers"

[29:37] Evan shares an encouraging stat: solar power has been the leading source of new U.S. electricity for nearly 25 months

[32:51] Evan tells me about his visit to COP 27 in Egypt, where global artists displayed installations made from pollution collected in their home countries

[33:20] Evan introduces me to Earthday.org's Artists for the Earth program and the annual official Earth Day poster

[33:52] The Global Halt Project: I love this — 500 artists across the world painted climate murals under cover of darkness, unveiled on Earth Day 2020

[35:47] Evan shares how YOU can get involved: visit earthday.org, find local events, organize a community cleanup, and start conversations in your school, faith community, or family

[38:10] I ask Evan where we can find his music and art

Transcript

Pam

Do you believe art can change the world? So do I! On this show, we meet artists whose work is doing just that. Welcome to art heals all wounds. I'm your host, Pam Uzzell.

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Pam

If you've been listening to my podcast, then you know that I went on a break after the last episode, but I have such a timely episode, so I'm releasing it now.

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Pam

Earth Day is right around the corner.

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Pam

People from all around the world will be joining their communities to take action in support of the environment, and to raise awareness of the need to care for this planet.

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Pam

We all share.

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Pam

The first Earth Day was in 1970, and artists played a very significant role

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Pam

then,

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Pam

and they continue to be a huge part of Earth Day every year.

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Pam

I had the opportunity to speak with Evan Raskin, the national campaign manager for Earth Day dot org.

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Pam

He represents the organization at environmental summits all over the world and speaks with everybody from political leaders to community leaders, the people who are really coordinating local activities that benefit all of us.

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Pam

Evan sat down to share more about the role of artists in Earth Day's history.

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Pam

We talk about this year's theme, our power, our planet, and how we can all lean into that power.

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Pam

if by any chance you listen to this episode After Earth Day has passed.

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Pam

Evan reminds us that every day will present us with a chance to contribute to the care of our planet.

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Pam

You want to know how you can really help me keep this show going? Follow me on your favorite listening app. So easy. Right? And if you really want to give the show a boost, leave me a five star rating or review.

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Pam

Hi, Evan. I'm so glad that you are on Art Heals All Wounds today.

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Pam

I know a little bit about you, but I'm hoping in this interview that we can find out more about you, but also the organization Earth Day that you work for.

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Evan

Yeah, certainly. It's such a pleasure to be here. We're exactly a month out from Earth Day today, and momentum is really building. So this is an exciting time for me and the organization.

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Pam

And just to let the audience know that this by the time this comes out, it will not be a month out. But that's where we are today.

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Pam

you're the national campaign manager for Earth Day. I'd love

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Pam

to

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Pam

know more about that role.

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Pam

What does that mean to be the national campaign manager.

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Evan

As the national campaign manager, my role is to make sure that we're unifying this incredibly diverse movement of people who are contributing on Earth Day to a better environmental future. It means that I am charged with fostering a platform where people from any background, both in terms of demographic and geography, are able to join our platform and find something that is local, relevant and authentic to how they want to contribute to the environmental movement.

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Evan

And that involves building the partnerships that will help bring Earth Day to life and making sure that in the way in which we communicate in the public, that we are reaching anyone and everyone who can make a difference.

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Pam

Right. And I think you deal with politicians as well. Is that true?

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Evan

That is true as well. And that extends throughout Earth Day and the rest of the year as well. I work with elected officials at the city, state and national level and occasionally at the international level,

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Evan

with

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Evan

foreign head of state or U.N. minister here and there. The bulk of my work,

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Evan

at least my favorite part of the work,

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Evan

happens in local communities working alongside mayors and council people, the people who really feel the pulse of their communities and have the greatest possibility to directly impact the quality of the air, land, water and climate that we depend on.

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Pam

Well, I have so many questions about Earth Day and Earth Day's work. But before we talk about that, I would just love to know a little bit more about you.

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Pam

I've read that you're also an artist. Is that true?

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Evan

That is indeed correct. Outside of my work at Earth Day, I am a musician, a painter. I even do a little bit of poetry. Just put out my first book recently.

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Evan

Like many artists, I like to wear all the hats that I can. And the creative space.

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Pam

Wow. Congratulations on your book. You know, when you're talking about all these different things. I'm just curious. And if you don't have an answer for this, you don't have to answer it.

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Pam

Between the music, the visual art, the writing.

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Pam

which one of those is kind of the one you go to when you really need a release from something that's bothering you?

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Evan

That is such a wonderful question. And for me, ultimately, while all of these mediums are able to provide what you've described, I find that the deepest impact is found through music. I tend to see the world through a rhythmic context. The cycles of nature and astronomy. They follow this rhythm of light and physics and life as we know it.

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Evan

All plays along to, in a way, Symphony. And each of us as individuals are playing our own part within that symphony. And so I find that that rhythmic element of music,

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Evan

allows me to shut away whatever dissonance I may be experiencing and find myself in greater harmony, to use a musical term. To describe how,

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Evan

it brings me balance and centers me.

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Pam

That is such this is such a great way of putting the role of music for you. And now I'm curious sort of what are the themes of your artwork, whether it's music, visual art or poetry.

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Evan

Well, to expound upon that point, really. A key purpose for me, in communicating my vision of the world through art is to help people understand that ever flowing rhythm all around them. To be able to understand who we are beyond, individual perspective, to understand the role that we play within communities, societies, within ecosystems,

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Evan

within the planet and the cosmos, to better understand that as a constituent part of our reality.

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Evan

There is much to be gained.

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Evan

Both in terms of our physical, mental and emotional well-being, but also in our capacity to be able to provide for others.

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Evan

To be able to make a contribution to a more harmonious future. The way that I see it is that,

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Evan

art can open up your perspective to

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Evan

Other ways of thinking.

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Evan

It can open up your perspectives to the way in which others think, the way that others feel. Ultimately, at the end of the day. To me, art is a form of communicating my unique perspective and the ways in which I hope that my perspective can help other people,

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Evan

both on a personal and interpersonal basis.

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Pam

There's a word you used earlier, this word dissonance, which I think we're all being, we're all experiencing that dissonance or most of us, I'm not going to say all, but most of us are experiencing various levels of that dissonance every day. And

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Pam

I love what you're describing as your own practice enabling you. I don't know if you I mean, I guess you can't get rid of it, really, but you can actually change your perspective to where you are engaging with this harmony that you talk about.

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Evan

Right. Exactly. For me, the harmony is really found

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Evan

by allowing the process of creating art to connect me to some artists call it like a source, for instance.

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Evan

To be able to shift my perspective from an individual to a part of an interconnected whole, in the same way that we understand ecology to function. And when I'm able to do this,

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Evan

it allows me to, to create work that I hope at least can inspire the audience to engage more mindfully with nature and contribute to a future in which all life forms can thrive.

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Evan

And as you said, Pam, we live in a time where people often find dissonance.

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Evan

A lot of artistic work talks about this element of modernity.

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Evan

The way in which the the means of living that we have in our modern society differ from the way in which our biology has evolved.

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Evan

And I find that cognizance of that allows us to be able to better manage the symptoms and,

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Evan

allow us to find authenticity in, modern environment that may be foreign to our biology.

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Evan

It also, as I mentioned earlier, helps us support each other as well. I think it's really important in my work that where I can there is a call to civic action, pieces that can call upon the audience to,

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Evan

not necessarily shed dissonance, but rather pay attention to its sources and how we can address them. Where is there perhaps an imbalance or injustice in society?

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Evan

And how can we take action to heal the world?

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Evan

I find these themes become particularly present in my music, but also in certain visual pieces, such as collage art, that I've made out of, various pieces of, creative work that are distributed, protests around DC. The activist community thrives on art and I don't think that we'd be where we are today without it.

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Pam

So I'm really curious, when did you personally feel that itch to start making art?

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Pam

How did that arise for you?

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Evan

family exposure was really crucial to my creativity development in certain ways.

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Evan

My mother, she was a hairdresser on major motion pictures.

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Evan

About over 50 of them, including a Best picture winner. And my father, he was the lead in Cirque du Soleil. He was on Broadway and most recently a, internationally recognized hospital clown performing for sick children as well as elderly dementia patients.

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Evan

And this work is, for one, of course, inspired me in a purely artistic context, showing that people around me are capable of creating something beautiful. And surely I am as well. But I also found that this work also showed the capacity for art to make a social difference as well.

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Evan

for instance, my father as a hospital clown, I could see that his art was making a real difference in people's lives, helping them through some of the hardest things they've ever experienced.

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Evan

he also has taken his work on stage and translated it into corporate consulting, showing how the skills of an actor can make you more successful as a negotiator and as an influencer. And to me, this showed that one of the powers that art has is to be able to draw influence, to be able to sway the hearts and minds of those who may be able to implement the vision carried by your art.

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Pam

But your path, I mean, obviously you didn't follow in that types of art. So, you know, specifically to perform music, to engage in visual art and writing. When did you feel called to do those things?

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Evan

Oh, it's such a cascade of moments. It almost happened without even realizing it. And I found that in terms of certain mediums, all it took was the slightest push. I never thought of myself as someone who was particularly adept at visual art. But for my college graduation requirements, I did need to take a fine art course.

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Evan

And, of course, that was of interest to me as someone who already had a bit of a creative background. And it felt like an opportunity to explore something new. And I found that just taking a Art 100 class and painting allowed for me to see that just the act of doing provided greater results than I would have expected.

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Evan

And of course, it was never about the results anyway. It's about the the way that we feel in making the work,

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Evan

in the form of raw expression. That's what really matters.

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Evan

But seeing a finished product that you're proud of,

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Evan

will always motivate you to go further. And I think so many people who would not consider themselves artists believe for really no good reason, in my personal opinion, that if they tried, they wouldn't get the results that they're seeking.

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Evan

But I think that there's a lot of latent potential in people out there to be able to express their creativity.

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Evan

And I think that the world would probably be a healthier place if everybody who may have written themselves, just picked up an instrument or a pencil or a paintbrush, whatever calls them in that moment.

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Evan

Don't worry about what it may look like, because sooner than later.

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Evan

With just a little bit of time and practice,

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Evan

the vision that you feel within yourself will become manifest.

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Pam

I agree with that so much, and I especially agree with this idea you're putting forward that it's not about the results. It's about the process.

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Pam

I think that you're right that society would be much healthier.

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Evan

Yes, and there's actually some science that is pointing towards society being healthier when they express themselves creatively. It was found recently, right, that,

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Evan

even just a few minutes of creative engagement per day leads to all these amazing cognitive benefits and.

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Evan

that carries over into every other aspect of society as well,

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Evan

when we take care of ourselves in terms of mental health, that allows us to achieve everything that we hope to achieve.

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Pam

I just interviewed Daisy Fancourt, who is one of the leading scientists in that, and she just released a book called Art Cure, which the findings are exactly as you're describing them, like the prescription of a daily creative practice, even if it's 10 or 15 minutes a day, could do you a world of good.

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Evan

Yeah. And what I found so amazing is that those benefits were just the same. No matter how good you are, for lack of a better term, that even people making so-called bad art, even though of course, we know there's no such thing. Even the people who aren't necessarily proud of their work still ended up receiving that same cognitive benefit.

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Pam

It is amazing.

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Pam

You know what you're talking about here, this drive to find yourself in a more healthy space does

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Pam

bleed over into looking around at our planet and

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Pam

suddenly becoming aware of how,

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Pam

there's a health of an ecosystem at stake here. So I think that they are all interrelated.

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Pam

So

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Pam

When did you become involved with Earth Day? How did that happen?

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Evan

Oh, wow. So my involvement with Earth Day goes right about all the way back to, graduating from college.

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Evan

I had just finished an internship in which I helped the British Embassy of DC phase out single use plastics from its operations.

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Evan

And I was really looking for something where I could continue to make an impact institutionally.

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Evan

But with a background already rooted in art and especially performance art.

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Evan

And that really led me to Earth Day.

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Evan

they had an opening in which I could actually be the voice of college campuses and the Earth Day movement.

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Evan

And that was a wonderful opportunity to leverage the like systems and communities that I've come to know so well over those previous four years. And so that experience built up. I took on progressively more responsibility until eventually I landed at the role of national campaign manager,

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Evan

where I could use that voice, both externally as one of the public faces of Earth Day.

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Evan

But also within realms of high impact advocacy, such as with political leaders and other stakeholders that can really drive widespread change.

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Pam

I'm wondering if you can tell us a little bit about Earth Day's history, and especially I'm interested to know,

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Pam

the role of artists in that history.

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Evan

Earth day has gone back now. Wow. 56 years to 1970.

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Evan

In 1970, Earth Day found itself at the pinnacle of this unique cultural moment where really, the drumbeat of society was one that was marching towards cultural and social evolution.

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Evan

This was when so many of the most important protest movements in American history happened, from the antiwar movement to the civil rights movement and the environmental movement, much in the same way, was able to mobilize through the power of art. We had musicians that were narrativizing the, so-called struggle that all of these groups are going through.

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Evan

Spreading the message of why people were getting active and taking to the streets, inspiring others to join them. The same was reflected in art.

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Evan

This was a time in which modern movements were evolving at a rapid rate, at a time where cultures were intersecting in such a way that new forms of creative expression were rising, allowing for people to express their social and political views in new and unique ways that ended up resonating broadly.

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Evan

And that really comes through when you listen to the music that was in the zeitgeist during the time of the first Earth Day. You listened to the sounds that were being created in the late 1960s, and they imagined,

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Evan

this almost idyllic world, one in which there is environmental and social harmony,

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Evan

in a way, it almost represents,

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Evan

what was missing in the Silent Spring.

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Evan

For those who aren't familiar. It's a seminal work of literature, on a, academic basis helped form the basis of the environmental movement. When one author asked herself where have all the birds gone? The spring is silent. Music, in a way, helped us remember what we lost and dream of a better future.

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Evan

And I don't think that the momentum that was built for their first Earth Day or for any movement that's changed the world could exist without those visionaries creating this tableau that everybody else could see and imagine themselves within.

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Evan

We have to dream of a better world in order for us to live in one.

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Pam

That's so beautifully put. And I think that.

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Pam

You're kind of naming the role of artists, but

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Pam

I, I've come to believe that everyone is born an artist and that I'm going to go back to this word dissonance, that if you can get through the dissonance, then you can also dream of that better world.

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Evan

Absolutely. I've never known another way to do it. And yes, I absolutely agree that every one of us is born an artist and I think the role of those who already see themselves as such,

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Evan

is to help everybody understand that inate quality within themselves.

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Pam

That is so true.

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Evan

all of this momentum led to more and more people joining the movement until Earth Day 1970 actually ended up being the largest protest mobilization in American history.

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Pam

Wow.

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Evan

Yeah. And this was such an important moment for us, not only for the sake of showing that individual Americans care about the environment, but because of the practical applications that that led to seeing this huge mobilization of millions upon millions of people out in the streets on Earth day 70 actually ended up leading to the foundation of environmental policy as well as we know it.

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Evan

Coming out of the first Earth Day, we had the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency, all three being really key pillars that have defined environmental protection in the United States until this very day. All of those started in 1970 and evolved over the next couple of years, forming into this really bedrock policy that ultimately has saved countless lives, restored numerous species, and allowed for a much better environmental future today than we otherwise would have experienced.

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Pam

Wow.

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Pam

I had no idea that that was

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Pam

the catalyst for all of this change.

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Pam

I know that your theme this year is Our Power, Our Planet. I'd love for you to talk about that theme. What does it mean? Why did the organization choose that theme? What does it mean to you as your new role, the organization?

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Pam

And what does it mean to you personally?

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Evan

you know, our power, our planet is one of my favorite themes we've had on Earth Day. During my time there. And what makes it so special to me is how universal this is. You've asked me to describe its meaning through a number of different lenses, and this is exactly our intention for this to be something of meaning to every stakeholder and institution in society.

00;23;13;19 - 00;23;53;17

Evan

For us, our power, our planet, really means to not only use our power for the so-called personal environmental footprint, but to contribute collectively and collaboratively towards the solutions that will lead to a more sustainable and equitable society. For us, our power, our planet is all about showing that each of us who is in the audience today, each of us who is living their lives and hearing about environmental challenges, they can often feel so much bigger than any one of us can actually do something about.

00;23;53;19 - 00;23;56;25

Evan

But this theme is there to remind you that when we

00;23;56;25 - 00;24;03;12

Evan

All use our power, then our planet will end up benefiting from those results.

00;24;03;14 - 00;24;08;26

Pam

In there, is there something about what it means to you personally?

00;24;08;29 - 00;24;15;23

Pam

let's pretend you don't work for Earth Day. What would that mean to you?

00;24;15;26 - 00;24;22;00

Evan

For me, it means that I have the power to make a difference in my own community.

00;24;22;03 - 00;24;29;25

Evan

For me to know that I am not just an anonymous citizen, but that I am a member of a family of a neighborhood.

00;24;29;28 - 00;24;54;11

Evan

That I can be successful in contributing my time to supporting others. And I find that in my life, when I have the greatest sense of meaning, it's when I am taking the time to be of service, not only in my role with the nonprofit, but also just as a general member of the community.

00;24;54;14 - 00;25;09;22

Evan

For me, when I hear our power, our planet, stepping away from my role as national campaign manager into just the lens of Evan, pure and simple, it means that I don't necessarily have to become jaded by

00;25;10;00 - 00;25;28;29

Evan

everything that we see in the world that we wish was different, that I know that if I am assured of my power to make a difference, and I act with that assuredness then I will be joined by other people who share that confidence with me.

00;25;28;29 - 00;25;41;16

Evan

It’s that it's not only on me alone, it's our power that we use collectively to solve the challenges that may be affecting us personally. Maybe affecting us societally,

00;25;41;19 - 00;25;46;02

Evan

but ultimately is something that can only be changed

00;25;46;02 - 00;25;47;04

Evan

when we all work together.

00;25;47;04 - 00;25;51;19

Pam

I'm glad you said that part about feeling jaded.

00;25;51;22 - 00;25;55;21

Pam

I would add to that feelings of hopelessness, especially,

00;25;55;24 - 00;26;16;26

Pam

with this current administration. It feels like there is a race to dismantle a lot of these organizations that you talked about that were formed after the initial Earth Day or if, if not to dismantle them, to at least twist them or make them a little bit toothless in terms of

00;26;16;28 - 00;26;32;10

Pam

performing the role that they were meant to do, and it is easy to feel jaded or hopeless and it sounds to me like what you're talking about is

00;26;32;13 - 00;26;34;10

Pam

starting with the individual, but looking

00;26;34;10 - 00;26;34;17

Pam

to

00;26;34;17 - 00;26;42;02

Pam

become part of some sort of community or collective action. That,

00;26;42;05 - 00;26;45;29

Pam

contains so much more power than just

00;26;46;01 - 00;26;48;13

Pam

me, you as an individual.

00;26;48;13 - 00;27;15;15

Evan

Yes, exactly. And I think that it's really interesting that you've brought up the current political landscape that we find ourselves within. And that's part of why our power, our planet has taken the shape that it has, is because we don't necessarily even need to collect our power towards overcoming this, great dismantling of action at the federal level.

00;27;15;17 - 00;27;32;15

Evan

When there are also so many other additional stakeholders that we can be reaching and engaging with along the way to resist that dismantlement and make sure that even in their absence, we are still a stable and sustainable society.

00;27;32;18 - 00;27;39;10

Evan

And it's something that I think led us to this and put it in the words of, the immortal Fred Rogers.

00;27;39;10 - 00;27;45;22

Evan

Right. You look for the helpers. There are so many willing voices in society nonetheless.

00;27;45;25 - 00;27;57;18

Evan

Here in DC, we tend to really look towards national politics. And it's easy to sometimes think that that is all that sways society. But as I mentioned earlier,

00;27;57;18 - 00;28;07;29

Evan

I really love looking at local leadership, looking at all of the different people who remain committed towards this work, or at least are willing to lend an open ear.

00;28;08;02 - 00;28;43;16

Evan

And when it comes to the individual implementing the ethos of our power or our planet, these are very much within reach. Just you and a couple of close allies can make a difference in your immediate neighborhood and community, that you can make a difference within your town or city, and to engage in local advocacy is, I think, something really special because of that shared stakeholder nature that everybody has, including your local officials.

00;28;43;18 - 00;29;09;06

Evan

I really believe that this kind of work starts locally and becomes global. And we often lose that when we look at the inaction or the, destruction caused by figures that are leading at a national level. Yet there's so much good still happening in the world, so much power that's being used both in those subnational public sectors and in the private sector.

00;29;09;08 - 00;29;37;22

Evan

Something that I think really gives me hope and shows that collectively, we are using our power to the betterment of our planet, is seeing that for now, the last, it's probably getting close to 25 months now. Solar power has been the leading source of new electricity generated in the United States. It shows that there are so many people out there that see that there is a real benefit to using our power for sustainability

00;29;37;25 - 00;30;07;28

Evan

We've reached a point now where the train has left the station. Our power has built within the environmental movement in certain ways where it really can't be stopped. Certain ideas around what we need to do as a future collectively in order to both survive and thrive, I believe, are now widespread. And this is, I think, another really powerful way in which art can help change the world.

00;30;08;00 - 00;30;45;09

Evan

Certain forms of art, such as literature, especially in the realm of science fiction, but also across so many other artistic mediums. They depict either an idealized version of the future, or perhaps a dystopian warning of what, inaction would lead to. And we see increasingly that in our collective visions of the future depicted through art, certain themes, certain things that have almost become, a given that one day, our societies will be fully driven by electric vehicles and renewable energy.

00;30;45;11 - 00;30;58;06

Evan

And at this point, it's become a matter of when rather than if. And for so many people, when asking the question of when, that time is now.

00;30;58;09 - 00;31;01;01

Evan

That's one of the great things that we see about art.

00;31;01;03 - 00;31;13;12

Evan

This is the whole role that it played within the Earth Day in 1970 movement and continues to play in modern social movements today. When we use our power successfully, it enables other people to use their power as well.

00;31;13;14 - 00;31;35;20

Evan

And within this context, I would say that it's our power as artists to be the voice of that change. To be able to inspire other people to create and spread the message further, or to inspire others to take action. This is what's so important for us. It's the idea of advocacy not only to elected officials and those who can affect change.

00;31;35;20 - 00;31;49;08

Evan

Broadly. They certainly have the power, and it's in accordance with the people, but also to make sure that we are stepping forward into the future with the confidence that we can collectively change things for the better.

00;31;49;11 - 00;32;16;23

Evan

I think that the role that artists are playing in the modern movement is perhaps more important than it's ever been, living in the information age, where there is so much saturation. A quality piece of creative work can cause people to tune in in a way that they otherwise would not have. And we see this in such a wide range of applications, from film making, where climate change and other

00;32;16;27 - 00;32;23;08

Evan

environmental topics are really reaching the mainstream through these Triple-A productions.

00;32;23;10 - 00;32;51;14

Evan

We see it showing up in environmental spaces themselves. For instance, a lot of my own work that I've done on found objects and collage art started from visiting COP 27, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where global artists from around the world were bringing installations made out of pollution that had been accumulated in their home countries.

00;32;51;16 - 00;32;59;20

Evan

And we've really seen within our own work at earthday.org that art can and does make a difference.

00;32;59;23 - 00;33;20;23

Evan

Every year we create the official Earth Day poster that creates a visual for the movement and something to latch on to. We also have an entire Artists for the Earth program that is designed to give a platform to creatives who are creating art that calls and inspires people to action.

00;33;20;25 - 00;33;52;07

Evan

And one of my favorite pieces of work at earthday.org that we've taken on was this project called the Global Halt 2020. It was this huge stealth street art project that we took on in 2020 for Earth Day, where 500 artists around the world participated in this campaign by painting murals protesting climate change in their local communities. All done more or less under the cover of darkness, so to speak, and unveiled on Earth Day.

00;33;52;09 - 00;34;06;16

Evan

Wow. And I find that mural work and street art on a personal basis is one of the greatest ways in which art can shape a society. I find that here in DC, where

00;34;06;16 - 00;34;08;00

Evan

mural work and,

00;34;08;06 - 00;34;09;29

Evan

socially active

00;34;09;29 - 00;34;22;29

Evan

forms of graffiti are commonplace throughout the streets and it really gives a unfiltered public discourse in a way that few other mediums can.

00;34;23;02 - 00;34;33;00

Evan

It's a true public forum in which people are sharing their ideas and those who are passing by in their everyday lives are exposed to those ideas.

00;34;33;03 - 00;34;59;04

Evan

And so we found that the Global Halt project was this really excellent opportunity for us to be able to put this message into a permanent context within communities everywhere. That way, the average person walking to work who may be able to effect change in that job, passing that climate change mural every day might have something to think about in terms of the impact that they could either,

00;34;59;07 - 00;35;01;07

Evan

cause for better or for worse.

00;35;01;10 - 00;35;04;26

Pam

Where can we see images of that? Is there a collection of them?

00;35;04;29 - 00;35;22;02

Evan

Yes, there is indeed, in fact, earthday.org is the host to one of them, you can find it on our page dedicated to the Global Halt Project. And you can also find these images listed on social media platforms using the hashtag Earth Day 2020 halt.

00;35;22;04 - 00;35;23;11

Pam

Wonderful.

00;35;23;14 - 00;35;24;26

Pam

Well, before

00;35;24;28 - 00;35;37;22

Pam

we sign off, I think it would be really helpful for anyone, not just artists, to know how we can get involved. What could we do this Earth Day. What could we do the

00;35;37;25 - 00;35;47;14

Pam

other 364 days a year. And you've talked about looking for a collective action, but I'm wondering if you have specific ideas for us.

00;35;47;17 - 00;36;08;12

Evan

The very first thing that I would recommend as far as how to use your power for our planet this Earth Day is, of course, to visit earthday.org. We are supporting thousands and thousands of environmental events happening throughout the month of April Earth Month, as we like to know that are happening in your community if you go to Earthday.org’s

00;36;08;12 - 00;36;16;21

Evan

Earth Day 2026 page, you will find our map there, used by millions of people to find and participate in Earth Day events.

00;36;16;24 - 00;36;30;21

Evan

This is one of the easiest ways to get involved. There are certainly people who are organizing volunteers in your community, and we want our platform to help connect you with those people. But of course, you don't necessarily need to find someone else leading a volunteer movement in your community.

00;36;30;23 - 00;36;44;24

Evan

There are plenty of ways in which you can start the conversation yourself. For so many, organizing a community cleanup is a really easy inroad to the environmental movement. In fact, that was one of the ways in which I got started myself.

00;36;44;27 - 00;36;51;25

Evan

I think it's also very important that Earth Day as a catalyst, you spoke to the other 364 days of the year.

00;36;51;28 - 00;37;19;01

Evan

We try to use Earth Day as a way of making every day forward to the next Earth Day a little bit more sustainable. And a great way to do that is to bring this into the conversations that you regularly have with your community. For instance, if you are a student or a teacher dedicating some time in your classroom to talk about how you as a class or as a school can take action together to achieve greater sustainability.

00;37;19;03 - 00;37;35;13

Evan

It's a great way to do this. We often see faith communities doing the same thing, bringing the congregation together to talk about what can we do to decarbonize the house of worship, and make it so that each of us in the congregation contribute to a healthier and more sustainable society?

00;37;35;16 - 00;37;40;25

Evan

You can reflect this across really anything that you are involved in, even if it's just your family.

00;37;40;27 - 00;37;47;01

Evan

Starting these conversations is the first step to how we change things for the better.

00;37;47;04 - 00;38;02;07

Pam

Evan, thank you so much. Both your story and then how it joins this larger story of Earth Day are really inspiring to me. And I know that other people listening to this will also be inspired.

00;38;02;09 - 00;38;10;22

Pam

Do you have any personal sites where there's your music or art that you would like people to engage with if they're curious?

00;38;10;24 - 00;38;12;11

Evan

Yes. Of course.

00;38;12;14 - 00;38;30;26

Evan

You can find me on Spotify as simply Raskin. And as of the moment, my visual art is mostly found in galleries and exhibitions around the greater Washington region. However, I am hoping to be able to share this more broadly in the near future.

00;38;30;27 - 00;38;32;01

Pam

thank you so much

00;38;32;01 - 00;38;36;26

Evan

Yes. Thank you so much. It's been wonderful to be on the show.

00;38;36;28 - 00;38;51;03

Pam

You’re listening to Art heals all wounds from.

00;39;04;02 - 00;39;24;00

Pam

Thank you so much to Evan Raskin for coming on the show to talk about the relationship between artists and Earth Day. I'm really happy that Evan shared his own journey with art as well. I'll leave links in the show notes to earthday.org website, as well as a link to Evan's music on Spotify.

00;39;24;03 - 00;39;51;22

Pam

I hope that for all of us, this opportunity to participate with Community on Earth Day serves as an inspiration to lean into our power for the benefit of our planet. Thanks for listening today. I'm not using social media right now, but you can always reach me at my website arthealsallwoundspodcast.com. And if you feel like it, follow my Substack for updates on new episodes.

00;39;51;29 - 00;39;57;24

Pam

although I'm still officially on break. Listen for new episodes in just a couple of weeks.

00;39;57;27 - 00;40;16;03

Pam

The music you've heard in this podcast was by Ketsa and Lobo Loco.