Speaking Up

In my corner of the world, in addition of violent snowstorms, there are similarly brutal storms and tragedies associated to the current federal government. All members of my community at home or internationally agree about the trauma the news are creating for us. My prayers go to all suffering from these calamities.

When much of my hope seems lost, last night I witnessed the magic of speaking up and be listened by my local government during the meeting of the Cambridge City Councilors. One of the topics of discussion was the endorsement of the Plant Based Treaty (PBT) I shared with you a few months ago. During the meeting, several members of the community, including yours truly, had the chance of making a public comment supporting this endorsement.

I do not need to remind you about the environmental and climate crisis that we are experiencing, when 7 of the 9 planetary boundaries have been surpassed. Animal agriculture is a major contributor to this, in addition to the cruelty inflicted to species that never agreed to become a human commodity. A plant based diet can prevent and even reverse chronic diseases, curb the expansion of animal farming, and thus help revert the ecological catastrophe we are heading into.   

At a time when our Federal government is pushing us into a dystopian world, witnessing my local government members unanimously voting to endorse the PBT in my city gave me a much needed confidence. This is a tremendous win for the environmental cause and the local government showed exemplary leadership and precedent for other jurisdictions. I am grateful for the ongoing work on climate issues that Cambridge is embracing and for endorsing the PBT to contribute to a livable future for all populations on our cherished planet. I congratulate the PBT team for this accomplishment and for the hard work to extend this important initiative to cities worldwide.

Once again, I am reminded of the power each of us has. We are not powerless. We need to continue to speak up to our government at all levels for the issues we are passionate about, those of health, environment and especially those of injustice and abuse.

Switching to art, there is still time to visit my solo exhibit, “WHO WILL SPEAK FOR THE EARTH”, at the Massachusetts State House (3rd floor - next to the Senate Chamber, Boston, MA), on view until February 24, 2026.

I am so honored that during the exhibit’s opening ceremony last November, I was offered an Official Citation from the State Senate, presented by Senator N. DiDomenico, and another one from the Mass House of Representatives, presented by Rep. Mike Connolly, both for my work inspiring action for the environmental crisis through art.

Lastly, I am excited to be part of the CreMAP community, a directory of innovators and art-scientists. I invite you to take a look at the multidisciplinary creative minds in the community.

More exciting art news are in the works and I will share them next time.

Starting this month, I will blog every 2 months instead of monthly.

Stay safe until then! 

Rebirth Island, oil media on canvas, 16 x 24 inches, on view at my exhibit “WHO WILL SPEAK FOR THE EARTH?” at the Massachusetts State House (3rd floor - next to the Senate Chamber, Boston, MA) until February 24, 2026.