At the Precipice considers the role of physical and emotional reactions in the era of climate disaster. Given the proliferation of dire headlines and a public response that vacillates between denial and fatalism, the exhibition explores the use of color, tactility, material, and data not to avoid or disguise the issues but to instead offer accessible entry points.

Featured works utilize a wide scope of art and design methodologies to give shape to aspects of a daunting crisis as they interpret the real-world changes of rising temperatures, environmental destruction, forced migration, and the stark consequences of unsustainable lifestyles enjoyed by few at the expense of many. Included are works by Selva Aparicio, Morel Doucet, Zaria Forman, Luftwerk, Nathalie Miebach, Chris Pappan, Redemptive Plastics, The Tempestry Project, Migwa Nthiga, and Jean Shin.

At the Precipice explores how it feels to inhabit an irreversibly damaged planet facing a precarious future and considers the purpose of art and design in understanding how our collective trajectory must rapidly change direction.

The exhibition is curated by Colossal.

Help Us Knit a Century of Chicago Weather!

As part of the exhibition, the Design Museum of Chicago has generously kickstarted a Chicago Tempestry Collection, which will use twelve knitted works to highlight changes in the local weather patterns during the last 120 years. Anyone interested in creating a tempestry—a tapestry depicting daily temperatures—to be added to the collection and displayed at the museum can purchase a kit on the project’s site. Thank you so much for your support!