First unveiled in October 2021, “Rising Above” is a public art installation that uses projection-mapping art to tell the history and envision the future of Nantucket’s resilience. The free five-minute installation is an ode to the island’s adaptive community spirit. It will once again be projected across the water onto the backside of 4 Old North Wharf, the scallop shanty of fifth-generation Nantucketer Ginger Andrews, on opening night of the 2022 Nantucket Film Festival (NFF) as part of its new Green Carpet Cinema initiative.
“Rising Above” tells the story of Nantucket’s working waterfront, its history of resilience, and the way in which its community has come together time and time again to adapt to change. The projection-mapping art display, aimed at inspiring the public to visualize how the waterfront has and will continue to adapt over time, includes historic storm surges as well as projected sea level rise figures through 2100.
The film will run on a loop from 7 pm to 9:30 pm on June 22, during the 2022 Nantucket Film Festival. The public is invited to gather alongEasy Street—a critical downtown thoroughfare prone to regular sunny-day flooding and storm surges—for viewing. Ferry passengers arriving and departing on the Steamship Authority vessels will be able to view the light projection during its run.
The art installation is a collaboration between ReMain Nantucket, Envision Resilience Nantucket Challenge, The Nantucket Dreamland, The Nantucket Film Festival and several artists. The art installation was led by local art director Heather MacLeod and visiting digital media designer Michael Clark of the University of Florida.
With the increasing and intensifying impacts of climate change on the Nantucket community ever present, NFF is committed to being an advocate and active participant in the conversation. This spring, the NFF announced its Green Carpet Cinema initiative, a program that amplifies environmentally focused storytelling at its festival. “Rising Above,” the pop-up art installation by ReMain Nantucket and the Envision Resilience Challenge, will return for an encore presentation on opening night of the Film Festival, Wednesday, June 22.
In addition to showcasing films Fashion Reimagined, Fire of Love, Rising Above, The Territory and To the End, the Nantucket Film Festival is hosting Green Cinema Carpet Talk: The Earth And Her Stories on Wednesday, June 22, 2022 at 3 p.m. The panel features ecologist Dr. Rich Blundell, Sara Dosa, the filmmaker of Fire of Love (NFF’s opening night film) and Cecil Barron Jensen of ReMain Nantucket and will focus on the power of storytelling around issues of climate, sustainability and our environment. Marc Skvirsky, Vice President Emeritus of Facing History and Ourselves, will moderate. “Rising Above” tells the story of Nantucket’s working waterfront, its history of resilience and the way in which its community has come together time and time again to adapt to change. The Envision Resilience Challenge is sponsored by ReMain Nantucket. Learn
more at www.envisionresilience.org.