Cocktails and Conversation: Artists and Climate Action Forum

Join us for an introduction to The Carbon Almanac and a conversation between four Bridgeport artists focused on working toward a better world. See the projects they’ve created and how they are connected. Participate in a lively Q&A and learn how you can get involved. Then get a close-up look and opportunity to purchase some of the products these artisans create — from sustainably produced custom notebooks to luxury handbags, totes and accessories crafted from post-consumer leathers and more.

The discussion features artist kHyal, Karl Heine, Finoula Breen-Ryan, and Richard Killeaney. Learn more about the artists below.

$10 For General Admission / Free For MoCA Members – become a Member today! Please Note: Membership status will be confirmed prior to event. 

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Background Information: 

How volunteering on the global launch of The Carbon Almanac brought an artist closer to home

In February of 2022, kHyal was invited by best-selling author Seth Godin to help promote the launch of The Carbon Almanac. TCA is a science-based source of reliable and easily understandable knowledge on climate change that can be shared to create meaningful impact. As a cross-functional collaborator on an international team from 90+ countries, kHyal’s efforts included spearheading the online sustainable fashion resource guide, writing for “The Daily Difference” and producing a standalone event for the worldwide book signing.  

Jane Goodall, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, stated:

“Every action we take makes a difference — every day. It is up to each one of us the kind of difference we make, and The Carbon Almanac helps us all find a way to take positive actions for the health of our planet and its inhabitants.”

This inspired kHyal to share her journey and highlight the work of other local creatives who have carved paths toward positive action through their art.

About The Artists: 

kHyal

kHyal is a creative activator passionate about sustainable initiatives, climate action, nature conservation and horseshoe crab rescue. Over the course of her career, she has founded and co-founded multiple creative agencies and tech companies. Her fine art and design have been exhibited in the American Visionary Art Museum, Pictoplasma–Berlin, New Britain Museum of American Art, la Gaîté Lyrique–Paris, the Cooper Union, the Outsider Art Fair, Housatonic Art Museum, City Museum–Washington, D.C., Intuit–Chicago, EGGO Arte–Buenos Aires and Miami Art Week. kHyal’s work has received media attention from T – The New York Times Style Magazine, Nylon, Time Out New York, CBS Sunday Morning, NBC News, Fox News, HBO and Vice. She has taught at M.AD School of ideas in New York and Miami, Anhui Polytechnic University in China, and USC Roski School of Art and Design in Los Angeles — and lectured in the US, LATAM and ASIA.

In 2007, kHyal founded fiZz Agency, a boutique marketing firm that has helped companies refine their ESG messaging for global initiatives. She creates mixed media work from ocean and landfill plastics and wearable art under the moniker MegaGlam® using upcycled materials and cutting-edge modern manufacturing techniques. Her character (and alter ego) The Weather sKwirl™ has become a voice for climate action.

Karl Heine

Karl Heine is a designer, photographer, educator and entrepreneur. His talent agency creativeplacement® has helped thousands of creative professionals and companies find their perfect matches over the past 35 years. More recently, as a natural extension of his talent recruitment and design education work, Karl has formally paired these offerings with a successful career coaching practice helping creative professionals at all stages find their true vocation.

 Karl is a former board member and lifetime service award recipient of the Connecticut Art Directors Club, founding board member and recruitment and events chair of AIGA Brand Central, and membership chair and board member of the Type Directors Club. He frequently lectures at design institutions and industry associations. An engaged educator, he has been an adjunct, visiting professor and presenter at top design schools in the US and abroad. Karl currently teaches professional practices in the BFA Illustration department at the School of Visual Arts.

Under the name Fresh Beam, Karl designs lighting. His sought-after pieces combine scrap metal, translucent stone, reclaimed acrylic, and natural materials like abandoned wasp nests with LED and OLED. His company DesignerJournals™ produces sustainable luxury notebooks featuring recycled Italian leather and recycled paper manufactured with wind power. Karl has produced custom journals for Adobe Typekit, typographics, Yves Béhar, Lynda.com, School of Visual Arts, Forbo, Lululemon, Type Directors Club, TYPO Berlin, Monotype, MegaGlam x P!Q and Richard Sachs.

Finoula Breen-Ryan

Finoula (Oola) Breen-Ryan is an (almost) 12-year-old writer, artist and activist who cares about the environment, literacy, and helping those in need. She founded Reading Treasury, a non-profit that delivers book care boxes to kids in homeless shelters in Bridgeport, in the summer of 2020 with these ideas in mind. Oola has been published in Stone Soup and National Geographic Kids, along with Pen & Paper, her school’s literary magazine. She recently participated in a state-wide art project with her mom called “The Exchange,” curated by SomethingProjects. 

Richard Killeaney

Richard Killeaney was raised in San Diego, California. He studied Studio Art and French at Hobart College and has an MFA in Textiles from the Rhode Island School of Design. He has taught textile design and clothing construction at various colleges, including the Pratt Institute, Fairfield University and RISD.

Richard’s company, Ocheltree Design, offers luxury that is more than just exquisite in appearance: it is also comfortable and socially responsible. These products consider aesthetics simultaneously as ideals such as recycling, organic fibers and sustainability creating objects that are as beautiful as they are considerate of the world. 

His products are manufactured at a quality to withstand daily use and become heirloom pieces. The quilts are constructed from men’s shirting with organic cotton batting and backs. The pillows are designed using men’s dress shirts, wool sweaters, tweed sports coats and repurposed leather. All small leather accessories, including tote bags and zip pouches, are made using leathers sourced from post-industrial or post-consumer sources, bringing no new leather into the world.