Opening of the exhibit “Breathe with Me”

‘Breathe with Me’ – a public art action for the world, conceived and executed by Jeppe Hein with ART 2030 – invites everyone to paint their individual breath onto large canvases in the shape of vertical blue lines – one for every exhale – raising awareness that the air we breathe is part of our connected world and climate.

The large-scale public participatory artwork in support of climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals will be on display at UN Headquarters from 21 to 24 September (visitors’ lobby), and in Central Park from 25 to 27 September (enter at 72nd Street).

The UN Environment Programme Executive Director, Inger Andersen, and Goodwill Ambassador, Aidan Gallegher, will take part in the opening of the exhibit. They will be joined by the Permanent Representative of Denmark to the UN, H.E. Martin Bille Hermann, the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, Jayathma Wickramanayake, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, Melissa Fleming, and artist Jeppe Hein in a joint effort to communicate the detrimental effect of air pollution on human health and the environment.

The UN Environment Programme’s BreatheLife campaign supports the growing momentum on air pollution through communications, technical support and outreach and network building activities. It serves as a high-level political platform for leaders to assist and encourage countries to respond to the air pollution and climate challenge while also increasing citizen and individual awareness of the issue through public facing communications campaigning to increase individual action and improved citizen behaviour.

For more information on the Breathe with Me exhibit: https://breathewithme.world/breathe-with-me/

For more information on the BreatheLife campaign: https://breathelife2030.org/

For more information on the UN Environment Programme’s work on air pollution: https://www.unenvironment.org/explore-topics/air