In The Paradox of Inaction, Alison Ruttan uses multimedia art to address a problem hindering humanity’s response to climate change: the incomprehensible scale of the present and future crisis. Ruttan is particularly interested in helping audiences understand the planning and architectural policy choices that lead us to (re)build structures and communities in areas increasingly vulnerable to flooding exacerbated by climate change. To help foster this understanding, the installation creates an immersive experience of flooding that captures both small-scale natural phenomena as well as large-scale disasters. Ruttan juxtaposes videos of water, leaves, and other natural experiences against a large-scale installation of more than 130 individual ceramic sculptures of single-family home roofs, evoking a bird’s-eye view of coastal communities facing rising sea levels. This experiential installation sparks introspection, examination, and ultimately understanding of the true threat of climate change.

Alison Ruttan is a project-based artist whose work focuses on topical investigations. Her work has been exhibited at Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota; The Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago; Crystal Bridges Art Museum, Bentonville, Arkansas; The Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago; Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, Illinois; Kent State University Art Museum, Kent, Ohio; Frist Museum, Nashville, Tennessee; Sweeney Art Gallery, Riverside, California; Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago; Document Gallery, Chicago; Galerie Wit, Wageningen, the Netherlands; Rocket Gallery, London; and The Drawing Center, New York. Her work has been written about in Art in America, Flash Art, Chicago Tribune, Art Papers, Chicago Magazine, and New Art Examiner. Ruttan has received awards from the Illinois Arts Council, Jerome Foundation, and Wexner Museum, among others.

Mariela Acuña is an art administrator and curator from San José, Costa Rica. As director of exhibitions and residency at Hyde Park Art Center, she oversees the Art Center’s exhibitions, the Jackman Goldwasser Residency, micropublishing platform Green Lantern Press, and the regranting initiative Artists Run Chicago Fund, which has awarded over a million dollars in grants to artist-run platforms in Chicago. Through her administrative and curatorial work, Acuña champions social practice and underrepresented artists in Chicago as well as supports transnational connections for artists and curators.

Hyde Park Art Center’s mission is to stimulate and sustain the visual arts in Chicago. As a home for creativity and community, the Art Center serves multiple purposes: it is a gathering space for artists and the larger community to engage with one another through free arts events; it is a learning hub for visual artists of all ages to develop art-making skills; it is a studio space for local, national, and international professional artists to deepen and develop their craft in Chicago; and it is an exhibition hall showcasing the talent of exceptional Chicago visual artists. Most of all, it is an artistic home for the community it serves. The Art Center has been a leader in advancing contemporary visual art in Chicago since 1939. Founded as part of the New Deal by a group of artists, the Art Center began offering art classes in 1940.