Art and Environment Independence Collide at London Climate Action Week

The 8th edition of London Climate Action Week (LCAW) runs from June 20 to June 28, 2026, with the theme "Climate Collaboration in a Fragmented World". Acting as a key staging ground for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Turkiye, the week features over 750 events drawing 75,000+ participants, designed to bridge global climate commitments with on-the-ground implementation and policy progress with a strong focus on geopolitics and technology. 

LCAW 2026 is hosting the first industry and civil society consultations for the "Belém Mission to 1.5" to publish an actionable roadmap on national climate targets right before COP31 begins.

On the theme of Climate Collaboration, using King Charles speech to the US Congress marking the 250th anniversary of America's independence as guidance, I collaboratively prepared four environmental art shows that are featured at LCAW 2026 this year.

King Charles’s Address to U.S. Congress

King Charles, who was only the second British monarch to address U.S. Congress, following his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1991, framed environmental stewardship as a foundational alliance between the UK and the US. He declared nature "nature's own economy" and emphasized that protecting it is a shared responsibility that underpins both nations' prosperity and national security. During his 28-minute speech, the King focused heavily on the U.S.-U.K. alliance, shared democratic values, and our "shared responsibility" to defend the environment and combat climate change for the next 250 years, warning about the collapse of "critical natural systems".

1. Flag CCL Series by Selva Ozelli Featured in Four Museums

Six days after the end of LCAW 2026, the US will celebrate the 250th anniversary of its independence on July 4th, 2026. To mark this milestone, I painted the Flag CCL series for four museums that are featured at LCAW 2026, which are endorsed by Freedom 250, the official initiative organized by the White House task force to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States (the Semiquincentennial).

Putnam History Museum, Cold Spring, NY

The Rose Flag CCL: The rose is the symbol of the USA, New York State, and the official national flower of England, specifically represented by the Tudor rose. To this day, many US cities still use the Tudor Rose in their flags. For example, Queens, NY, or Annapolis, Maryland, the city's official flag and seal feature a royal Tudor Rose surmounted with a crown. This historic rose represents the city’s colonial roots and its naming in honor of Princess Anne (who later became Queen Anne) of Great Britain.

Putnam History Museum is located in Cold Spring, NY, which is named after George Washington, who served as the first president of the United States. When he rode through the area, took a sip from a natural spring, he remarked on how refreshingly cold the water was, hence giving the town its name. Cold Spring, NY, is home to several species of native rose bushes, which include Virginia Rose (Rosa virginiana), Carolina Rose (Rosa Carolina),  Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris), featured in my Rose Flag CCL for Putnam History Museum.

Havre de Grace Maritime Museum, Havre de Grace, MD

Hydrangea & Rose Flag CCL

National Lighthouse Museum, Staten Island, NY

Ocean Lovers - Angel Fish Flag CCL

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University (LDEO), Palisades, NY

Miriam Cinquegrana, who oversees the Art Meets Science initiative at LDEO, explained

"The Flags of Science art show featuring four US Flags was created by Selva Ozelli in honor of America’s 250th anniversary and the groundbreaking research of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientists."

These Flags include:

Ocean Lovers – To the Core Flag CCL

Atmosphere Flag CCL

Space Solar Flag CCL

Tree of Life/Tectonic Flag CCL

The Tree of Life/Tectonic Flag CCL celebrates the Liberty Tree, the towering 130-year-old elm in Boston, Massachusetts, which served as the primary gathering spot for the Sons of Liberty. This tree was incredibly important to the independence of the USA because it provided a visible, outdoor sanctuary where colonists organized historic protests against British taxation, laid the foundational groundwork for revolution, and openly debated their grievances.

In August 1775, during the Siege of Boston, British troops and Loyalists deliberately cut the tree down for firewood to erase the powerful symbol of rebellion. Instead of crushing the colonial spirit, the destruction of the elm tree triggered unexpected consequences.  Colonists viewed the felling of the tree as an act of malicious tyranny, fueling the independence concept across the 13 colonies, with patriots throughout the 13 colonies designating their own local liberty trees and erecting "liberty poles" in defiance of the Crown.  As a result, the Liberty Tree became a powerful symbol of colonial defiance and unity—acting as a living anchor for the ideals that fueled the American Revolution.

2. Statue of Liberty Exhibition at the National Lighthouse Museum (NLM) featuring Hunt Slonem and Selva Ozelli

HRH Princess Anne (The Princess Royal) bridges her deep ties to British maritime history with modern environmental and climate goals. Her focus is heavily anchored in serving as a global champion for ocean conservation and sustainable marine technology in an era of rising sea levels and shifting environments. For these reasons, she serves as the honorary chair for the National Lighthouse Museum in Staten Island, NY (NLM). 

To celebrate the 250th commemoration of the founding of the United States as well as on 28th of October, 2026 the 140th anniversary of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty, officially titled “Liberty Enlightening the World,” as gift from France to the U.S., a sculpture designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi which initially served as a lighthouse on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, the NLM is hosting the Statue of Liberty Art Show from June 14th, 2026 to January 2nd, 2027 that is featured at LCAW 2026.

Curated by Stevie Peters, the art show showcases a historical photo of Lady Liberty when she first arrived at NY Harbor — that is on loan from Victoria Westhead — and oil paintings by award-winning artists Hunt Slonem and Selva Ozelli.

Hunt Slonem joins the Statue of Liberty Art show with his signature “Bunny, Bird and Butterfly” series, which includes a US flag representing abundance, hope, and fertility; his Abraham Lincoln series depicting the timeless icon of American history as a “great soul,” a symbol of law and personal liberty; and his Chandelier series, which reflects his fascination with light and historic grandeur.

Hunt explained,

On Marilyn [Monroe]’s desk, she had a picture of her mother and a picture of Lincoln. And she said, ‘I really didn’t know who my father was, so it might as well be Abraham Lincoln.’ I work with diviners and mystics, and one of them started channeling Lincoln in my house, [Lincoln] guided me to paint certain things, like my doves: he wanted me to paint them as a symbol of freedom.”

Selva Ozelli, joins the Statue of Liberty Art Show with her Ocean Lovers-Angel Fish Flag CCL a 20 ft by 13 ft US Flag from her Flag CCL series that represents the seven rays on the Statue of Liberty’s crown, depicting our world’s seven continents, seven seas, and its angel fish inhabitants, which are often regarded as a symbol of hope, peace, and spiritual guidance.  Selva will be presented with an Artistic Vision award for this huge flag by NLM during the museum’s gala on August 7^th.

I am honored to join the Statue of Liberty Art Show along with a historical photo of Lady Liberty and my favorite artist, Hunt Slonem, with my Ocean Lovers – Angel Fish Flag CCL painting. 

For one hundred and forty years, The Statue of Liberty  in New York Harbor and  hundreds of replicas and models of “Lady Liberty” located around the world ranging   from small, historical models in Paris to full-sized or scaled-down copies in cities like Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, and Las Vegas have become a very important symbol of  the global spread of liberty, freedom, democracy, law, hope and inspiration to serve every creature  of our world.”

Whether people have seen Lady Liberty in real life in different cities or only in photographs, whether the people are American or from other nationalities or cultures, the Statue of Liberty,  which first served as a lighthouse standing tall in NY Harbor across from our museum has come to symbolize something important for people in their own lives at a very personal level – she represents a certain level of security, constancy, freedom, democracy, the rule of law, hope, and the abolition of slavery serving as a universal beacon of light, liberty and inspiration. We invite everyone who wants to see the Statue of Liberty Art Show or Lady Liberty herself and the largest waterfront spectacle, SAIL 4th 250…Where Light Meets Liberty! that will take place from July 3-8, 2026, in the Port of New York and New Jersey, with the main spectacle, the International Parade of Tall Ships, scheduled for July 4, 2026.

These events are part of America’s Semiquincentennial (250th) anniversary celebration and is expected to be the largest international maritime gathering in U.S. history, with over 30 tall ships from around the world, sailing up the Hudson River. Our museum, which is hosting a July 4 Watch Party Breakfast, will serve as a key viewing spot. For further details or to be an event sponsor, contact www.lighthousemuseum.org,”

~ Linda Dianto, Executive Director of NLM.

3. Reimagine Featuring Ian Hutton and Selva Ozelli

LCAW 2026 features a massive push for the Ocean-Climate Nexus, centering on the entry into force of the historic BBNJ High Seas Treaty that officially protects over 10% of the global ocean. I prepared the Reimagine art video, featuring Ian Hutton and my work.

For the first time, a dedicated Ocean Hub at LCAW is highlighting marine protection, blue carbon, and ocean-based decarbonization as vital tools for the global climate crisis. Ian Hutton, Scientist, Author, Photographer of Paradise exhibit that is part of the Reimagine art video, and Curator of Lord Howe Island, said:

We are working hard trying to expand Australia’s Marine Protected area around Lord Howe Island. To fund it we are setting up a Lord Howe Island Foundation to allow more people to donate to the island conservation, and we are working with the Pew Charitable Trust.”

4. America at 250 at the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum, Havre de Grace, MD, featuring Semine Hazar, Ian Hutton, Fatma Kadir, Selva Ozelli, Alfons Rodriguez, Ilhan Sayin, and Mary Tiegreen

I was saving the riveting tax story that changed the history of the USA for the last (only tax attorney’s do this type of sequencing, so do not feel left out, disoriented, or concerned). 

The first signs of rebellion against the Crown occurred in Maryland in 1765, when the tax collector Zachariah Hood was injured while landing at the second provincial capital of Annapolis docks, arguably the first violent resistance to British taxation in the colonies. After a decade of bitter argument and internal discord, by the Sons of Liberty who gathered around Maryland's historic Liberty Tree, which was a massive Tulip Poplar (also known as a Yellow Poplar or Liriodendron tulipifera) Maryland declared itself a sovereign state on July 6, 1776. Maryland ranked 13th among the original 13 colonies to authorize its delegates to support independence.

To celebrate the 250th commemoration of the founding of the United States, Havre de Grace Maritime Museum is hosting the America at 250 Art Show featuring Flags, Flowers, and Lighthouses by the award-winning international artists from January 29th, 2026, to December 31, 2026, which is endorsed by Freedom 250 and featured at LCAW 2026.

Alba Cedó Guivernau, Cultural Affairs Office, Consulate General of Spain in New York, explained

The America at 250 exhibition that is featured as part of LCAW 2026 hosts collaborative work among participating award-winning international artists and institutions. It is encouraging to see initiatives that bring together artistic practice, environmental awareness, and public engagement, particularly at a time when reflections on sustainability, collective responsibility, and cultural dialogue are increasingly relevant. We would also like to commend the coordination of this project and the continued efforts to connect artists across different backgrounds and disciplines through shared environmental, historical, and cultural themes.”

Have a great LCAW 2026 filled with collaboration art, culture, environment & history everyone!