May 31, 2024 | New York
For three days this fall, Swissnex will transform Performance Space New York, a leading venue for experimental performing arts in New York City’s East Village, into the Climate Ring, a boxing arena for the fight of the century: the one against climate change.
From September 25 to 27, rising stars and heavyweights from research, innovation, and the arts will go toe to toe with our current planetary crisis. Swissnex’s boxing-inspired pavilion will serve as a central stage for Swiss engagement at Climate Week NYC 2024, the world’s largest and most bustling climate festival.
Referred to by The New York Times as a “Burning Man for climate geeks,” this annual rendez-vous for climate culture features over 600 events, from tech mixers and VIP dinners to concerts and Earth-inspired drag shows, taking place across New York in parallel with the UN General Assembly High-Level Week. It brings together climate leaders from government, business, technology, arts, creative industries, academia, and civil society.
The Climate Ring will attract this influential community with an eclectic program of talks, panel discussions, exhibits, and performances, built around 12 main events that symbolically mirror the 12 rounds of a boxing match. Each of them will approach the fight against climate change through a boxing-inspired lens:
- Round 1 | Fundamentals
- Round 2 | Mindset
- Round 3 | Energy
- Round 4 | Vision
- Round 5 | Balance
- Round 6 | Water
- Round 7 | Adaptation
- Round 8 | Impact
- Round 9 | Mobility
- Round 10 | Dignity
- Round 11 | Stamina
- Round 12 | Victory
The initiative features a growing list of Swiss and US partners and contributors, including Performance Space New York, the pavilion’s host at 150 1st Avenue; Swiss direct air capture pioneer Climeworks; the Crowther Lab at ETH Zurich; the participants in Climate Collider, the startup exchange program powered by Swissnex and Innosuisse; the Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD); the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK); Greater Zurich Area; Greater Geneva Bern area (GGBa), Swiss Business Hub USA; and the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York.
The Climate Ring builds on the success of Swissnex’s presence at the 2023 edition of Climate Week NYC, providing a creative platform for Swiss and international innovators and leaders to engage in dialogue at one of the world’s most important climate events.
Climate Ring: The Inspiration
The Climate Ring looks at boxing, a sport with deep roots in New York, as an inspiration in the fight against climate change. Like a prizefighter rolling with the punches, the struggle for a livable planet demands adaptation and resilience in the face of repeated setbacks. At the same time, the Climate Ring draws on the legacy of the sport as a catalyst for social change, to invoke the global solidarity needed in our current moment. Just as boxing showcases the extremes of human strength and vulnerability, it calls attention to the communities and ecosystems that the climate crisis has put on the ropes and urges us to fight back.
The initiative also draws inspiration from the vibrant communities around Performance Space New York and Susanne Bartsch, the Swiss-born nightlife impresaria and LGBTQ+ advocate whose lasting impact on New York’s cultural life was recognized with the Swiss Grand Award for Design by the Swiss Federal Office of Culture in 2022. For four decades, Performance Space New York has been dissolving the borders of performing arts, dance, theater, music, visual art, poetry, prose, ritual, nightlife, food, film, and technology, shattering artistic and social norms alike. Founded in 1980, it became a haven for many queer and radical voices excluded from the cultural mainstream amid the devastation of the emerging AIDS epidemic.
As we step into the Climate Ring to take on the fight of the century, Performance Space New York and Susanne Bartsch offer inspiration through their commitment to inquiry, imagination, inclusion, and joy in the face of overwhelming challenges.