Not Too Late

Hangama Amiri, Michelle Blade, Sam Bornstein, Tiffany Bozic, Keiran Brennan Hinton, Dominic Chambers, Gianna Dispenza, Sean Donnola, Alec Egan, Maggie Ellis, Julia Felsenthal, Alteronce Gumby, C’naan Hamburger, Keith Jackson, Julia Jo, Haley Mellin, Miguel Angel Payano Jr., Esteban Ramón Pérez, Kenny Rivero, Lily Stockman, Bari Ziperstein

The funds raised from the exhibition support the declaration of new Indigenous Lands in the Amazon, in support of the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, Re:wild and Art into Acres. Financial support is going to local organizations and Indigenous associations tasked by the Brazilian government with carrying out the required processes to achieve permanent designation titles for Indigenous Peoples’ land. The sales of artwork is matched at 100% by foundations that are members of the Protecting Our Planet Challenge. Charles Moffett is donating expenses to support this effort. The exhibition marks the first phase of an ambitious arts fundraising effort steered by Art into Acres, which aims to support upwards of 800,000 acres of new permanently protected areas, with the most significant impact on biodiversity, climate, ecosystem integrity and connectivity, and Indigenous Peoples.

The designation effort is designed to support Indigenous Peoples in securing their territorial rights in the Brazilian Amazon region and safeguarding the Amazon biome and is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples and the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples, to be implemented in partnership with Núcleo de Defesa e Assessoria jurídica Popular, with a specific focus on advancing the demarcation process for Indigenous Lands. The planned activities include conducting identification studies for eleven new Indigenous Lands in the Amazon region leading to their official declaration, and demarcating eight previously declared lands recognized by the Brazilian State for the final act of the President.

Indigenous Peoples are the guardians of the Amazon rainforest. Native ecosystems in Indigenous Lands with some degree of official recognition by the Brazilian State corresponds to about 20% of the total native vegetation of Brazil. Remarkably, these lands have only experienced 0.9% of deforestation in the past three decades (According to data gathered by MapBiomas (2023) (MapBiomas_Terras Indígenas 2023)). While being widely present throughout the Amazon, there are still a high number of demands for recognition and demarcation by Indigenous Peoples who do not have the rights to their ancestral territories duly recognized and guaranteed.

The organization of Not Too Late emerged from four years of Charles Moffett’s collaboration and conversation with Mellin and the Art into Acres initiative. As a member of the Galleries Commit Collective and the Climate Action 8x8 Campaign, the gallery continues to be committed to playing its part and working with peers to take steps to reduce the art community’s carbon emissions. The exhibition’s title is inspired by the #NotTooLate project and related book, Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility edited by Rebecca Solnit and Thelma Young Lutunatabua. #NotTooLate encourages people to engage with the climate movement from positions of hope and possibility, helping people see why it’s worth doing the work the climate crisis demands.

The Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (Portuguese: Ministério dos Povos Indígenas) is a cabinet-level federal ministry in Brazil. The ministry was established on January 11th, 2023 under the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to advance and protect the interests of the Indigenous people of Brazil. The current federal deputy is Sônia Guajajara, who was announced, in late December 2022, as the head of the agency.

Re:wild is a global organization supporting environmental causes around the world. Founded by a group of renowned conservation scientists together with Leonardo DiCaprio and combining more than 35 years of conservation impact, Re:wild is a force multiplier that brings together Indigenous peoples, local communities, influential leaders, nongovernmental organizations, governments, companies, and the public to protect and rewild at the scale and speed we need.

Art into Acres is an artist-founded, non-profit initiative that supports large-scale land conservation with a focus on biodiversity and Indigenous Peoples-led efforts. Alongside the support of artists, galleries and institutions, and in collaboration with matching fund partners, Art into Acres has supported the permanent conservation of millions of hectares of tropical and boreal forest to date. Projects are locally-led and based on community-voiced interests.