THE SDG PAVILION, unga 2023
Project: The SDG Pavilion, UNGA 2023
Partners:
UN Office for Partnerships, Es Devlin, Empire, Scape Design, Scotscape and the following partners for making the SDG Pavilion possible: Betsee Parker, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Deloitte, Google.org
The Brief
In September 2023, as world leaders gathered for the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, we collaborated with the UN and artist Es Devlin to create a show-stopping beacon for the Global Goals.
The SDG Pavilion was a versatile, semi-permanent artistic structure, set within the iconic grounds of United Nations Headquarters in New York, designed in collaboration with global artists with sustainability and diversity at its heart.
During the General Assembly, the Pavilion was home to an extraordinary week of programming exploring the solutions needed to supercharge progress on the Goals in the second half, as well as an evening of entertainment billed as the SDG Halftime Show.
The Approach
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The SDG Pavilion provided a unique and inspiring convening place at UNHQ during UNGA.
The exterior art installation brought together a brilliant cohort of cultural collaborators to bring each of the Sustainable Development Goals to life, taking visitors on a journey of exploration and interaction with the SDGs.
The installation consisted of 17 doors, opening to reveal a unique expression of each goal, created by a selection of global artists.
The interior featured a forest of trees, all native species, which provided the perfect backdrop for the talks and discussions that took place inside.
The programming delivered events centered on key areas advancing progress on the Goals including climate justice, health, AI and finance.
The SDG Pavilion also hosted the SDG Action Zone, 17 Rooms, the SDG Advocates Meeting, the Women Rise For All Lunch, and the fantastic Halftime Show: an evening of speeches, music and films inspired by the lavish productions put on in the halftime break of major sporting fixtures.
Speakers included Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, Helena Gualinga, Goodwill Ambassadors Orlando Bloom and Forest Whitaker, as well as performances from Rocky Dawuni, Angelique Kidjo, Yo-Yo Ma, Amir Siraj, UN Youth Poet Laureate Salome Agbarogi, and Yemi Alade.
We worked with Google Arts and Culture and Bloomberg Connects to give the pavilion content a home online. This included an audio description by Es Devlin explaining and contextualising the artistic concept for the SDG Pavilion.
“Each door is a portal to one of the goals – seen through the lens of artists, activists, poets, thinkers and makers from every continent. Within the pavilion we have installed ‘An Assembly of the Trees’, a parallel to the assembly of humans in the UN headquarters across the lawn.”
An incredible line-up of Goals supporters came to speak at the SDG Pavilion, including Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations Amina Mohammed, Orlando Bloom, Forest Whitaker and Lily Singh among many others who added their voices to our call for urgent action on the SDGs. Other high-profile visits included Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres, Justin Trudeau, and Sadiq Khan.
We also welcomed influencers Prajakta Koli, Nathalia Arcuri and Alice Aedy to our first ever Creator Studio at the SDG Pavilion. From Marina Silva, Environment Minister of Brazil to Valentina Muñoz Rabanal, feminist STEM advocate and SDG Advocate – the studio brought the Goals to life and to brand new audiences
