Introduction
Let us hold a giveaway for Mother Earth, spread our blankets out for her and pile them high with gifts of our own making. Imagine the books, the paintings, the poems, the clever machines, the compassionate acts, the transcendent ideas, the perfect tools. The fierce defense of all that has been given. Gifts of mind, hands, heart, voice, and vision all offered up on behalf of the earth.
—Robin Wall Kimmerer, *Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants*
Earth's future beyond the current climate crisis calls us to action and also to dream--of new ways of being in relationship with each other and the planet. What, then, might this look, feel, and sound like? Imagining a way forward from climate despair is a daunting but necessary task that succeeds in creativity and community. Crafting Sustainable Futures: Collaborative Visions is the result of creative action in service to hope and transformation during crisis. Sponsored by NYU Libraries in partnership with Tisch School of the Arts' *This Is Not A Drill* Program, the Office of Sustainability's 2040 Now initiative, and the NYU Reads program in the Office of the Provost, this exhibition invites the NYU community to reflect on what imaginative efforts would support climate activism and positive change.
The artworks on display in Mamdouha S. Bobst Gallery are the products of research, dialogues, reflections, and craftwork in service to imagining sustainable, equitable, and joyful futures. NYU student, faculty, staff, and alumni drew inspiration from past NYU Reads selections and *This Is Not A Drill* artworks, put in dialogue with 2040 Now themes of ecological sustainability, environmental justice, and the power of engaged hope as we navigate the climate emergency. The artists' collages, photographs, illustrations, sculptures, poetry, and films recognize our shared responsibility for preserving the planet we all call home.