Relive "The Response: Echoes beneath the rain"
Thank you for joining us for “The Response: Echoes Beneath the Rain.” We were thrilled to share an immersive evening of sound, imagery, and community voices to explore how water arrives, disrupts, and how together we rise to respond.
Below you’ll find everything you need to revisit the experience and keep the momentum going:
- Full Program & Recap
- Event Photo Highlight
- Participant Reflections
- Resources, Links, & Next Steps
Dive back in, share your favorite moments, and discover how you can stay involved with Rainproof NYC.
Echoes Beneath the Rain: Photo Highlights
What a night! “Echoes Beneath the Rain” soundscape brought us all together under one roof and left us carrying the echo of every voice well beyond the night.
Swipe through to see the evening unfold through these captured moments. Spot yourself in the crowd? Loved a particular installation? Tag yourself on social using #RainproofNYC.
Images by Judy Huynh
Engaging with the EXHIbit
The Response: Echoes Beneath the Rain curated by Olive Toran in Collaboration with Rainproof NYC and Rebuild by Design is both a listening experience and a call to sustain the work it amplifies. The exhibit seeks to:
- Showcase the ongoing work of Rainproof NYC and allied initiatives (tabling at the end of the performance)
- Build long-term capacity for creative, community-led climate action
The Response: Echoes Beneath was curated as exhibit as an open-format, immersive experience. There is no fixed start or end point. Instead, we invite you to move freely sensorially between the three sonic movements of “Before,” “During,” and “After the Storm.”
As you listen, we invite you to:
- Pause and listen closely to each soundscape
- Take your time connecting your listening to the visuals
- Spend time at the Rainproof Your Community partner tables to learn about the power of local action
- Take note of your feelings, reflections, and ideas to add your thoughts, drawings, or ideas to the interactive workshop wall in the “After the Storm” reflection.
Feel free to arrive, listen, reflect, and return as the storm cycles on.
Echoes beneath the rain: Today's Important links
Rainproof NYC is a city-wide initiative led by Rebuild by Design to lead NYC to learn to live with increasingly heavy rainfall. Rainproof NYC is charting a path to systematically transform our city into a giant sponge.
Rainproof NYC aims to be a replicable model for a collaborative, systematic approach to addressing our new reality of increasingly heavy rainfall from our home, NYC, to cities around the world.
![RAINPROOF [YOUR COMMUNITY'S NAME]](https://rebuildbydesign.org/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/Screenshot-2025-01-28-at-12.35.24 PM-r0o7wshlwrqg2j220affwm5w7a8xbst2ouk3j0skk0.png "RAINPROOF [YOUR COMMUNITY’S NAME]")
Meet todays artists
Olive Toran
Guitar, Curator
Olive Toran is a multidisciplinary artist and environmentalist, working with poetry, photography, storytelling, and music to explore the emotional and ecological landscapes of our time. Her work centers memory, connection, and renewal, inviting audiences into spaces of reflection and healing. Her works include Inner and Outer Transformations: The Climate Crisis, an immersive multimedia exhibit on personal healing and climate action. Olive’s work has also appeared in Culture Push Issue 21: Community and Climate Adaptation and is shaped by years of hands-on learning, including time in India exploring participatory development and waste management systems. Her art is grounded in over a decade of lived experience, working across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean in climate and health and climate adaptation. Olive created the People’s Toolkit for Flood Mitigation and leads networks to amplify community knowledge and climate action. She is a certified herbalist and board member of Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards (SAWS). She currently serves as the Atlas of Disaster Outreach Coordinator at Rebuild by Design.
Natie
Violin
A creole musician/singer-songwriter from Reunion Island, based in NYC. After a world tour in Beyoncé & Jay-Z’s band in 2018, Natie launched her solo career with the release of her music video “Identity” & her debut EP “In the Key Of Fall.” Through her music, Natie aims to share the experience of being creole (mixed race) and uprooted, with authenticity and grounding, in the hope of fostering more openness and belonging. With these values in mind, the artist has launched her own festival, Kréol Fest, an artistic celebration of creole culture from around the world. Her multilingual/soothing EP “Home: a place within aux parfums d’ailleurs” also came out last year with a stunning cinematic music video shot in both her homes, untitled ‘Ter La’. Natie’s recent performances include Global Fest with the Ragini Ensemble, Summerstage with Ganavya, and a solo performance for 100 Years 100 Women at Lincoln Center. She recently performed in her home island for the 20th anniversary of the festival Sakifo.
Brittany Harris
Cello, Bass
A Detroit native with dual Bachelor’s in Music Education and Cello Performance (Western Michigan University) and a Master’s in Film Scoring (NYU, 2022). Since 2015, Brooklyn-based freelance, recording, touring, and off-Broadway cellist. Performed at SNL, The Tonight Show, Carnegie Hall, The Apollo, Lincoln Center, and on tour with Escape The Fate and the Emo Orchestra. Brittany performs with FEMPIRE (with Sarah Overton) and as a solo artist, blending classical, rock, jazz, indie folk, and soul. Works as a TV/film/media composer, sound designer, studio/touring cellist, music copyist, arranger, transcriber, and music analyst for Ethos. Credits include work for Babyface, Loren Allred, Rob Lewis & Orchestra, Broadway/off-Broadway, Machinal (MTC City Center), and co-creating the podcast Good Night Black Child—a space for bedtime stories and meditations centering the Black and Brown diaspora.
Explore Brittany’s work here>>
positive change.
Meet todays Rainproof [Your community's name] partners
Rainproof Flatbush
Central x South East Brooklyn CDC; Flatbush, Brooklyn
The main goals of Rainproof Flatbush are to build community, raise awareness, and prepare people for flooding emergencies. A local working group and planning academy will be established to build the capacity of community residents, to inform a strategic plan to address flooding based on the specific challenges in Flatbush. It would also support information gathering about the impact of flooding from a wide range of stakeholders and the development of digital and print materials that can be disseminated via the organization’s website, newsletter, digital platforms, community meetings, and events.
Rain Activated: Empowering East Flatbush Through Resilience and Art
Brooklyn Level Up, Inc.; East Flatbush, Brooklyn
BKLVLUP’s Rain Activated: Empowering East Flatbush Through Resilience and Art transforms the challenge of flooding into an opportunity for community action and preparedness. This project provides all community members, be they homeowners, tenants and/or small businesses with a Rainproof Toolkit, combining practical solutions and hyper-localized resources. Featuring rain-activated public art installations and hands-on interactive workshops, the initiative inspires unity, fosters environmental stewardship, and equips East Flatbush to face future storms with resilience and confidence. Through education and collaboration, Rain Activated empowers the community to turn rainy days into catalysts for positive change.
The Dear Neighbor Project
Van Alen Institute – Points of Promise Initiative; Gowanus, Brooklyn
The Dear Neighbor Project is presented by Brooklyn-based artist, Tiffany Baker and supported through Van Alen’s Institute’s Points of Promise initiative. The project is a multi-site mural campaign activating 15 locations in Gowanus Brooklyn. Dear Neighbor highlights how residents in Gowanus have been impacted by and support each other during flood events. Audio recorded stories from interviews with neighbors are transformed into large-scale outdoor murals. Dear Neighbor also raises awareness about flood prevention methods, through workshops, helping to engage and educate the community.
Flood Education Project
Southeast Queens Residents Environmental Justice Coalition (SQREJC); Southeast Queens
The primary goal of this project will be to educate the Southeast Queens community on flood preparation, flood mitigation, and the alternative uses for rainwater. A secondary goal of this project will provide resources, such as rain barrels and flood sensors, to residents actively experiencing flooding in their homes due to heavy rainfall. Finally, SQREJC will also use its social media campaign to encourage community members to fill out flooding surveys, in order to produce a more accurate account of the extent and the severity of flooding in Southeast Queens.
Building Resilience: Enhancing Community Capacity for Flood Mitigation and Advocacy
Nonprofit Staten Island; Staten Island
The Rainproof [Staten Island] micro grant project will enhance local flood resilience through education, advocacy, and resource distribution, focused on connecting with underserved populations and environmentally vulnerable neighborhoods. Led by Nonprofit Staten Island (NPSI) in close alignment with its SI COAD coalition and Community Climate Corps, the project focuses on equipping communities with actionable flood mitigation strategies, distributing critical tools such as hydra-barriers and residential floodgates, and fostering grassroots advocacy. These efforts aim to bridge gaps in resources and knowledge, ensuring Staten Islanders are better prepared to meet the challenges posed by increasing rainfall.
FloodChat
The City Sponge, Unified Ground; Citywide
FloodChat is meant to help NYC residents – 2.3M renters specifically – prepare to “live with more water” by making the community engagement aspect more engaging, specific to their situation, and digestible versus overwhelming. We leverage the capabilities of AI to synthesize vast amounts of decentralized information and make it more accessible in a conversational, multi-language format.
Rainproof Calvary First Nigerian SDA Church
The Climate and Health Equity Foundation; Citywide
To effectively disseminate the findings and recommendations of Rainproof NYC and foster meaningful community engagement, the Climate and Health Equity Foundation (CHEF) will disseminate Rainproof NYC findings by: 1) conducting a workshop with Calvary First Nigerian Seventh-Day Adventist Church (CFNSDAC) to discuss recommendations and foster collaboration. 2) recruiting and training five Community Climate and Health Ambassadors (CCHAs) to educate their communities and mobilize action on climate-related health risks. 3) developing a website and robust social media presence to disseminate research, showcase successes, and provide valuable resources to the broader community.
Dive deeper into today's visuals
BEFORE THE STORM
The day begins during an afternoon winter walk. Laughter soft, time slow. But in the distance, the air begins to shift. Clouds gather and gray. Birds arc low, restless. There is a tension just beneath the calm—something unspoken, arriving.
As you enter the space, let this moment guide you: the hush before disruption, the beauty before the break.
The image in this section was captured by Olive Toran during a winter walk in NYC on January 1, 2025.
Scene: The People’s toolkit and boxes
The People’s Toolkit by Olive Toran is a community-driven initiative started in 2023, developed through participatory action research, and designed to spark conversation on resourcing communities to address flooding in NYC. More information at olivetoran.com
Image by Olive Toran
DURING THE STORM
This collage is built from community—literally. Every photo on this wall comes from Rainproof NYC partners, neighbors, and grassroots efforts across the city. Together, these fragments form a living archive of what it looks like to move through the storm.
“During the Storm” can mean the moment of rainfall, the flood, the surge, but it’s the actions, adaptations, and community emerging in response. It’s what happens when the waters rise and when communities rise with them.
By layering many perspectives into one visual field, this collage resists any single narrative of crisis. Instead, it shows what it means to act while in motion, to organize even amid uncertainty, and to lean into collective presence and mutual aid. You’ll see education sessions, fieldwork, sidewalk canvassing, rain-activated art, emergency planning, joy, protest, and gathering.
We invite you to reflect:
- What does your “during the storm” look like?
- What does it mean to act while the storm is still unfolding?
- What can we learn from each other when we step outside our silos?
This is a call to look around and ask: How do we move through storms, together?
Images provided by the Rainproof NYC Community; curated by Rifal Imam
AFTER THE STORM
Nach dem Sturm, Acrylic painting by Marie Amoyi
German-Togolese artist currently based in New York. Marie’s work explores texture, emotion, and colored fluidity through abstract forms – capturing fleeting moods, and intuitive movement.
Marie’s acrylic painting reflects the aftermath of a flood – a landscape marked by destruction and disarray. Through layered textures and contrasting colors, it captures the way materials are forced together by rising water, leaving behind a dense, unsettling trace of what was once whole.
What We Heard: After the Storm Interactive Reflection, Led by Joie Zhang
What does a future for your community look like without flooding? After the Storm was an interactive discussion exploring reflections on the “Echoes Beneath the Rain” exhibit. Together, we dug into the lessons learned and imagined how we can rainproof our communities for the future.
Below, you’ll find the inspiring visions and ideas shared by participants.
Reflect
What reflections or ideas did this immersive listening experience bring up about your / your community’s preparedness for rain?
Responses:
- How can I prep an emergency escape kit when the next storm comes? What do I need?
- How I can be of service to my community to assist in the emotional healing process of such unfortunate experiences
- In times of crisis, we’re all we’ve got
- How can I connect my art to the environmental movement?
- All of our skills can help raise awareness
- Be persistent 🙂
- It is our collective responsibility!
Key Themes:
- Noted gaps in personal and community readiness for storms; need for emergency kits.
- Art and individual skills as tools for awareness and collective healing.
- Emphasized persistence, mutual aid, and shared responsibility in crises.
Imagine
Imagine it’s 2050. Flooding is no longer an issue. What does this look like in your community?
Responses:
- Folks can walk home when it rains because the streets aren’t flooded
- +1 no flooded bike lanes
- No longer walking in ankle deep water just to cross the street
- BQE repurposed for stormwater conveyance
- Greener!
- Bioswales
- The Big U
- 25 years of climate action
- Equity
- Trees
- A chance to thrive!
- Rich, verdant green
- Driving is safer because we don’t have to worry about getting stuck in the mud!
- LOTS of green infrastructure
- We have adequate & equitable funding for environmental response and education about climate impact. A widespread respect for our environment!
- No matter the city or location, adequate funding and support is provided for all people in environmental distress
- Give info to the ones who are homebound
Key Themes:
- Flood-free streets, bike lanes, and homes with abundant green infrastructure.
- Equitable funding and climate education supporting all communities.
- A thriving, green environment shaped by collective action and care.
Prepare
How do we work together? What steps do we need to take today to prepare?
Responses:
- Push local government to work with the community and hold them accountable when they don’t
- Coming together as a community to share resources and knowledge that will assist us in being prepared for those experiences
- Help you community +2
- Educating kids and public funding for preparedness
- Bring your friends and neighbors into the environmental movement
- Community engagement
- Real media with authentic reporting (non-biased)
- Comprehensive planning that centers climate resiliency
- Educate, encourage and empower others to get involved with community infrastructures that can impact our local government
- Listen to the data! +2
- Listen to the earth, consider those who came before and one another, love
Key Themes:
- Push local government to work with the community and center community voices in climate planning and listen to the data.
- Build networks to share resources, knowledge, and emotional support.
- Empower neighbors and youth through education and engagement in preparedness.
How to stay involved with Rainproof NYC?
From storms that disrupt daily life to flash floods that threaten homes and infrastructure, the impacts of heavy rainfall are becoming increasingly frequent and severe. NYC relies on 100-year-old sewers and siloed coordination across agencies and sectors. Our major rainfall events—named like Ida or Ophelia and many unnamed ones—remind us of these gaps in adapting to our new reality.
Rainproof NYC is a city-wide initiative led by Rebuild by Design to fill the gaps and lead NYC to learn to live with increasingly heavy rainfall. Since 2022, Rebuild has been combining research, global inspiration, and convening hands-on collaboration across agencies, nonprofits, communities, and experts. Rainproof NYC is charting a path to systematically transform our city into a giant sponge.
Rainproof NYC aims to be a replicable model for a collaborative, systematic approach to addressing our new reality of increasingly heavy rainfall from our home, NYC, to cities around the world.
We each have a role to play in Rainproof.
Rainproof NYC is where all stakeholders learn from each other and act collectively to tackle increasingly heavy rainfall and flash floods.The growing Rainproof NYC network brings together community groups, city officials, technical experts, policy advocates, private sector partners, educators, and more to understand and address flooding in NYC.
Ways you can get involved include:
- Stay updated on new pilot projects, events, and funding opportunities.
- Collaborate with the Rainproof NYC Network.
- Join a Rainproof Event.
- Learn from other cities in our Rainproof Series.
- Participate in or Pilot Rainproof NYC Projects.
- Share Rainproof Resources & Expertise.
To learn more about the Rainproof NYC process and stay updated on our work, click here>>
As part of our ongoing work to address increased heavy rain, we launched a series of events to highlight innovative solutions, lessons learned from global cities, relevant research, new books, and more.
If you have an event you would like listed, tell us at info@rebuildbydesign.org
View upcoming and past events from the Rainproof Calendar>>.
The “Rainproofing New York City: Recommendations from the Working Groups,” report documents the recommendations that came out of the working group process, serving as a resource for other cities that are working to address the challenge of increased heavy rainfall
If you’re interested in duplicating our process or learning more, email info@rebuildbydesign.
Click here to read our process>>
Call for Resources & Recommendations: If have any resources or recommendations addressing heavy rainfall, contribute to our ongoing Rainproof Library.