Welcome to Symbiont

by Natalia Fernandez

Our changing climate is not a new phenomenon. Our planet is and always will be in a state of transition. Yet we have known for decades that our actions are harming the systems of this earth, and many of us continue to live in the mindset that has ultimately placed this earth in crisis. We have the power of choice; to continue living in a manner that will make our survival “an impossibility of our own making”, as curator Paola Antonelli has previously expressed, or we can choose to do better. 

Should we follow the path of our own destruction, harming with our mistakes those species that we co-habitate this planet with, when we know better? Can we shift the narrative, and reject the systems that have made us believe that we have ownership of this earth and can thus subjugate its life to our will? Can we focus on bringing environmental justice to our communities, instead of focusing on colonizing land beyond Earth? 

We founded Symbiont to ask these kinds of questions, create conversations, and amplify the voices of the youth that are striving to imagine healthier and more hopeful futures. Our mission is to foster a trans-scalar and interdisciplinary approach to understanding and communicating the climate narrative. We invite you to join us in this pursuit of learning (and re-learning) and hope that you too will add to the conversation.

We are so glad you’re here. 

NATALIA FERNANDEZ is a sophomore Product Design and Interdisciplinary Science student at Parsons School of Design. She is also a team member at Symbiont.