Culture at a Click
"The most important thing is to keep our hearts open, to feel for everything, and for one another" says Pico Iyer. These words are more timely than ever as the nation celebrates the 50th anniversary of Earth Day this week. Please join us in marking the occasion with archived lectures and conversations by some of the leaders in the environmental movement as well as educational opportunities for all ages.
And get to know Stacy Cullison, our new Senior Director of Development, who gives us some fun facts about talking opera with 49ers coach Bill Walsh, her surprising side hustle and more. We hope you'll be seeing her around in person before too long!
With deep appreciation,
Celesta M. Billeci
Miller McCune Executive Director
For a then-and-now perspective on the climate crisis, watch NASA physicist and climatologist James Hansen, who, in 1988, became the first leading scientist to explain global warming to the U.S. Congress and the American people. He spoke to A&L audiences in 2007 in a public lecture titled How Can We Avoid Dangerous Human-Made Climate Change? Video available through Friday, May 1. Use password "Hansen2007" to view now.
Then watch a talk from this February by environmental hero Bill McKibben, who wrote 1989's The End of Nature, the first book about global warming for a general audience, and his latest bestseller, Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? McKibben's talk, Our Changing Climate: A Global Movement of Reform, was co-presented by the UCSB Environmental Studies Program in honor of its 50th anniversary. Video available through Friday, May 1. Use password "McKibben2020" to watch now.
Keep up with the latest climate developments through The Climate Crisis, Bill McKibben‘s new weekly newsletter for The New Yorker, or go local with 350 Santa Barbara, our very own chapter of the international grassroots climate justice group, 350.org.
Author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore, UCSB Reads 2020 author Elizabeth Rush explores how humans adapt to changes enacted upon them by forces seemingly beyond their control. Watch this Earth Day conversation about her book and the impact of sea level rise on the United States, presented by the UCSB Library.
Please consider a gift to help us through this challenging time.
What will you do to make every day Earth Day? This year, National Geographic is adding its voice to the worldwide call for a sustainable environment, featuring special materials and opportunities to engage with their explorers.
photo: Joel Sartore
Searching for new ways to teach and learn at home? National Geographic uses the power of science, education and storytelling to illuminate and protect the wonder of our world. Visit their amazing catalog of classroom resources to learn about everything from climate change to microbes to the women of NASA.
Recognizing five decades of environmental activism, education and research, A&L’s Forces of Nature series featured speakers including climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, bestselling author David Wallace-Wells and environmentalist Bill McKibben, each of whom met with students from UCSB's Environmental Studies Program and the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management.
David Wallace-Wells Q&A with UCSB students
Learn about climate change and the future of humanity with this video featuring David Wallace-Wells, then take some time to read his book and reach out @artsandlectures to share how you're empowered to help us all avoid an "uninhabitable earth."
Get to know Stacy Cullison, Senior Director of Development and Special Initiatives
Your line of work is all about interacting with people and creating relationships. Can you share a story about one that stands out?
I previously worked at San Francisco Opera and one night in our intermission lounge I recognized legendary 49ers coach Bill Walsh. Turns out his wife was an opera fan, so they had just bought their first mini subscription. A few weeks later I gave them a backstage tour and he translated nearly everything he saw or heard into field positions and play diagrams! It helped him understand opera in his own way, and made for some interesting and delightful conversations.
Tell us about your side hustle.
I'm a gig pianist, though in recent years I've mostly been a church musician. I've helped a lot of people get married since the '80s!
If you could time travel, when and where would you go?
1940s Paris to see and hear Edith Piaf perform in the bustling nightclub scene.
What’s your favorite part of your new job?
Meeting the donors and patrons! A&L is a celebrated part of the community and I love learning how people connect with it in so many different ways. And since I just moved from San Francisco in January, these conversations help me learn more about my new hometown and all that I have yet to discover.
You moved to Santa Barbara from San Francisco, but where did you start out?
I grew up on a farm in NW Iowa and my first job as a young kid was walking beans... I wonder how many people know what that is?
2019-2020 Season Online – Available Wherever You Are
Missing live events? Now, we’re bringing the theater to you with our 2019-2020 Season Online. Experience a digital hub of dance, music, lectures and more from this season's scheduled artists. And visit often, as we’re constantly updating the feed with new live performances and other resources as they become available.
