"ICEA's mission is to assist an understanding of the relationships between Humans and their Environment through the Arts".    >> More >>

>> World Conferences-Revisited Program

The International Center for Environmental Arts (ICEA) was founded by David and Renate Jakupca in 1987 to meet the compelling needs of ordinary citizens for access to current, balanced, understandable information about complex global issues. Over the years, ICEA has gained a reputation for excellence based upon its unique library of specialized, current information on issues of global importance and a wide range of imaginative programming and collaborations with other organizations to meet the needs of a broad constituency. The center is non-political and its library materials are current and provide all points of view. The experiment in citizen education has won international recognition for ICEA and Cleveland, Ohio. ICEA has three working divisions: Arts, Environment and Humanitarian. In addition to setting up and sponsoring touring art exhibits such as "Pieces of Pelee", which toured Ontario, Canada, Michigan and Ohio in 1987 through 1992 and "Endangered Spaces", both relating to the Great Lakes and its shoreline, ICEA also organizes many exhibits such as the United Nations "Fourth World Conference on Women - Revisited" which offers exhibited materials that were prominent at the Conference in Beijing (and was sent to Kenya and to other groups in the region), ICEA's library is unique in its specialized focus and its easy access to the public. Topics include: nuclear weapons development, proliferations and disarmament, nuclear power and other energy sources and environmental concerns as they pertain to global security and conflict resolution from the interpersonal to the international. Much of the material is "one of a kind" and was collected at the last five United Nations' conferences in which ICEA has participated in. They were the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro (1992), the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, Austria (1993), the Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, Egypt (1994), the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China (1995), and the Habitat II - Conference on Cities in Istanbul, Turkey (1996), EXPO2000 in Hannover, Germany (2000), World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa (2001) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa (2002).

Each of these conferences yielded vast materials that lend themselves to interactive displays, exhibits and forums for public dialogue regarding the issues under consideration. The various exhibits developed won international acclaim for their forthright stands and amplification of voices at grassroots levels who are not sufficiently heeded in policy and decision making. The exhibits tour throughout the world and provide ongoing connections of local realities to global and international issues and events. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has recently incorporated into their 'American Canvas Project' ideas from ICEA's Endangered Spaces Exhibit.

The key personnel for this ICEA are: David Jakupca and Renate Jakupca. They are the founders of ICEA and provide the vision and drive to make the projects become a reality. David Jakupca is the internationally acclaimed "Father of the Environmental Art" movement. His vision of examining global issues through the Arts spurred the formation of ICEA. As an artist, for 25 years, his works have received international recognition and acclaim. He uses a variety of media - sculpture, paint, photography - to present a balanced view of the issues that concern the world today. Renate Jakupca is the Project Director. Her responsibilities include: coordinating the written materials and handouts, establishing contacts with experts to assist in the forums and seminars, preparing presentations and managing the details of travel and exhibit transportation to all touring sites (in Ohio as well as the rest of the world). Additionally, she adds to and maintains the ICEA library, seeking out unique documents that represent all viewpoints. She is also the ICEA's business manager and is responsible for maintaining all daily financial matters and records.   >> More >>