Street Works Earth returns to 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights for its second annual festival on September 21, 2025, featuring over 100 artists, climate experts, and community groups in a day-long event focused on climate action and community engagement. The festival, a program of Street Works in partnership with Make Justice Normal, occurs during New York Climate Week and emphasizes co-creation between artists, organizers, climate leaders, and residents.
This year introduces Future@Work, a career fair designed to help people of all ages explore climate-related career paths. The initiative is co-designed by multiple organizations including ALIGN, El Puente, Frontline Resource Institute, and WE ACT for Environmental Justice. Jenille Scott, Climate Director at ALIGN, stated that "Future@Work shows that climate action and good jobs are inseparable," emphasizing that a just transition requires creating opportunities where frontline communities can thrive with dignity and purpose.
The festival also highlights two additional themes: Thread Lightly, exploring the cultural and political power of fashion, and Kindred Roots, celebrating practices of care and mental wellness. These themes address the intersection of environmental justice with daily life and community well-being. Sasha St. Juste, Organizing Manager at WE ACT, noted that "climate solutions must speak to our daily lives and our futures," highlighting how initiatives like Thread Lightly demonstrate fashion's role in environmental burdens and trends.
The event's importance lies in its timing as New York falls further behind on compliance with the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). Street Works Earth serves as a platform for rapid action and co-creative decision-making between residents, justice leaders, and policymakers. Monique Aiken, co-founder of Make Justice Normal, described the festival as "a living experiment in normalizing justice-centered organizing" that demonstrates equitable, care-driven solutions co-created with communities.
Last year's event attracted over 3,000 attendees and 75 participating artists and groups, featuring artworks that evolve through public interaction. This artistic practice of co-creation reflects the festival's core philosophy that art is not finished until made collectively. Ernest Verrett, co-founder of Street Works, emphasized that "co-creation is a joyful practice of shared power" that centers the collective rather than organizations or policymakers.
The free, family-friendly festival runs from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm ET, with the Future@Work career fair primarily from 12:00 to 2:00 pm. Participants include numerous artists and organizations committed to addressing climate justice through community engagement and creative expression.
