Photos: Sari Goodfriend
On Friday, July 10 at 6:30pm, the Climate Museum presented “A Black Feminist Climate Arts Salon” at Gladys Books & Wine. For the climate-curious, the climate-knowledgeable, and everyone in between, this program centered creativity and Black feminist approaches for collective climate action. The event was free and open to the public.
The evening included a vital conversation on cultivating sustainable and generative relationships with the planet, featuring Breanna Byrd, Climate Museum Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Climate Humanities and Social Justice; Courtney Rohan, artist and somatic educator; and Whitney McGuire, founder of the McGuire Consulting Group, which works at the intersection of sustainability, design, and culture.
Together, we explored agency, creativity, and climate action, while remembering “that we are each other’s/harvest:/we are each other’s/business:/we are each other’s/ magnitude and bond.” (Gwendolyn Brooks)
The program began with a reception. Light refreshments were served.
SPEAKERS
Breanna Byrd (PhD) received their PhD in Feminist Studies from the University of California Santa Cruz. They are the 2025-2026 Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in Climate Humanities and Social Justice at the Climate Museum in New York City. Her research charts the ecosocial relationships among Southern (U.S. and Global South) Black communities. Their work also engages questions around the “Anthropocene,” apocalypse, and sustainable futures. Looking to where narratives of world-ending/world-making take place, she thinks with Black geographies to center Black communities and their strategic practices of care. Dr. Byrd is a 2025-2026 North Carolina Climate Justice Collective Taproots Artist in Residence and was a 2025 Luminary Editorial Fellow with SISTORIES: An Interactive Black Feminist Literary Magazine. Their creative and scholarly work weaves together histories of land, belonging and futurity to tell a story beyond the inevitability of climate collapse.
Courtney Rohan is a facilitator, multidisciplinary artist, and spiritual creative whose work bridges wellness, community engagement, education, and artistic expression. With nearly two decades of experience spanning classrooms, studios, businesses, and homes, she has remained committed to helping individuals reconnect with their creativity, well-being, and capacity for healing.
As co-author of the poetry collection The World is Still Chaos, Courtney uses writing and storytelling as tools for reflection, restoration, and transformation. Her collaborative work with organizations across North Carolina—including QC Family Tree, Here for Good Business, and North Carolina Climate Justice Collective—has supported community wellness through creative programming, logistical leadership, and educational initiatives.
Through offerings such as her Trashy Art workshops, the Animals Remember oracle card deck, and Heal-Thy Expression classes, Courtney creates spaces that encourage self-discovery, creative confidence, and holistic healing. Her work is rooted in the belief that wellness and creative expression are accessible to everyone and that art can serve as a powerful pathway to personal and collective renewal.
Whitney McGuire, Esq. helps organizations and artists rethink their impact on people and the planet. A lawyer, strategist, educator, and systems designer working at the intersection of culture, climate, and equity, she brings more than a decade of experience transforming how communities and institutions imagine sustainability as a practice of care, justice, and cultural preservation.
As the Founder and Managing Partner of The McGuire Consulting Group, Whitney guides museums, foundations, and mission-driven organizations through change — building strategies that center community, equity, and environmental accountability. Her work has shaped initiatives with The Guggenheim, The Getty, Christie's, The Kitchen, and Custom Collaborative.
Trained as an attorney and informed by her experience as a cultural worker and professor at Parsons School of Design, Whitney bridges legal, ecological, and creative systems to help organizations move from intention to transformation.
This program was made possible by a grant from the Mellon Foundation.