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Beka Economopoulos

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Beka Economopoulos
Born1974
EducationNorthwestern University
Known forSocial justice activism
Websitenotanalternative.org/ and http://thenaturalhistorymuseum.org

Beka Economopoulos (born 1974) is an American artist and director of the art, activism, technology, and theory non-profit "Not An Alternative". She is a co-founder and director of a traveling pop-up museum, The Natural History Museum, as well as an organizer of the March for Science.

Personal life

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Economopoulos was educated at Holton-Arms School and Northwestern University.[1] She is married to Jason Jones. They have one child, and they live in Vashon, Washington.[2]

Career

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An environmental justice activist since about 1993, Economopoulos was a co-founder of The Natural History Museum in 2014,[3] a traveling museum and museum transformation project highlighting sociopolitical forces that shape nature, which The New York Times and ArtNet named "Best in Art in 2015".[4][5] She is a founding member of Not An Alternative, a social justice arts collective,[6] and she was a co-organizer and Board Member of the March for Science in 2017.[7] She is a sustainability advocate, and has been Director of Online Organizing at Greenpeace and the Director of Strategy at Fission Strategy. In those positions she worked with the Global Climate Change Alliance and the United Nations Foundation.[8]

Economopoulos and The Natural History museum have mobilized protests of museums with connections to petroleum interests and climate change deniers, urging museums to cut ties with them.[3][9][10][11]

Selected publications

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  • Sutton, Sarah W.; Wylie, Elizabeth; Economopoulos, Beka; O'Brien, Carter; Shapiro, Stephanie; Xu, Shengyin (June 19, 2017). "Museums and the Future of a Healthy World: "Just, Verdant and Peaceful"". Curator: The Museum Journal. 60 (2): 151–174. doi:10.1111/cura.12200. ISSN 0011-3069.
  • Lyons, Steve; Economopoulos, Beka (May 7, 2015). "Museums must take a stand and cut ties to fossil fuels". The Guardian. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  • Econopolis, Beka (December 15, 2015). "The Natural History Museum". New York. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  • Economopoulos, Beka; Jones, Jason (April 12, 2016). "Not An Alternative -- Art, Art History & Visual Studies". aahvs.duke.edu. Duke University -- Art, Art History, and Visual Studies. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  • Econopoulis, Beka. "Participationism (re: Re:Group: Beyond Models of Consensus) - Tactical Media Files". www.tacticalmediafiles.net. Retrieved June 20, 2018.

Awards

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In 2018, Economopoulos became one of twenty Roddenberry fellows in the inaugural year of the fellowship, designated to support, "leaders and disrupters whose work is making our country more inclusive and equitable for all".[6][12]

References

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  1. ^ Precious, Tom (August 3, 2000). "Protests Ebb in Aftermath of Violence". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on June 27, 2024. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  2. ^ Boyle, Christina (February 24, 2012). "Occupy Wall Street baby born in a Brooklyn cab, and videographer dad captures it on film". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on October 25, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Karr, Rick (May 3, 2018). "American Museum of Natural History In New York Grappling With A Board Member Dilemma". All Things Considered. NPR. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  4. ^ Cotter, Holland; Smith, Roberta (December 9, 2015). "The Best in Art of 2015: Gains". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 27, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  5. ^ "The Natural History Museum and the Future of Nature with Beka Economopoulos and Dan Kammen". Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. 2018. Archived from the original on February 25, 2024. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  6. ^ a b "2018 Fellow - Beka Economopoulos". Roddenberry Fellowship. 2018. Archived from the original on February 25, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  7. ^ St. Fleur, Nicholas (April 22, 2017). "Scientists, Feeling Under Siege, March Against Trump Policies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  8. ^ "The Natural History Museum Co-Founder & Director Named 2018 Roddenberry Fellow". The Natural History Museum. March 5, 2018. Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  9. ^ Janes, Robert R. (2015). Museums without Borders: Selected Writings of Robert R. Janes. London: Routledge. pp. 435–. ISBN 978-1-317-44323-0. OCLC 932622739 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ Pogrebin, Robin (January 17, 2017). "Museum Trustee, a Trump Donor, Supports Groups That Deny Climate Change". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 17, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  11. ^ Tran, Lucky (December 9, 2015). "Artists and Activists Sing, Spill 'Oil' in Anti–Fossil Fuel Protests at the Louvre". Hyperallergic. Archived from the original on June 5, 2024. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  12. ^ "Roddenberry Fellowship". Roddenberry Fellowship. Archived from the original on June 21, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
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