Biography:

Aresh Javadi is an environmental justice artist, activist, and educator from the enchanting city of Shiraz, Iran. He cultivates public, communal celebrations and Earth-based arts such as living willow structures to create green spaces where they are needed the most. With a passion for merging art, love, and justice, Aresh has been instrumental in preserving and revitalizing over 500 community gardens in NYC. Aresh playfully dedicates his life to fostering ecological regeneration and social justice through community art for a more beautiful and equitable world.

In-Depth Biography:

For the last twenty years, Aresh Javadi has created, taught and organized collaborative nature-based art projects, which are always seeking solutions and moving towards a just world. His roots grew from the fertile soil of Shiraz, Iran, a city of enchanted gardens, where Hafiz’ mystic love poems are recited by heart around the table. Today, Aresh can be found weaving living willow sculptures throughout NYC, continuing the tradition of sacred geometry he witnessed as a child in Iran.

Earth-based arts, social justice, and public celebration are key ingredients in Aresh’s co-creations. He is an experienced organizer and direct action facilitator, and his leadership in community-based arts has contributed to the preservation and enhancement of over five hundred community gardens in NYC. As a prominent advocate and expert in community land use rights, he served on the board of the New York City Community Garden Coalition's policy and legislation committee from 2001 to 2018.

Aresh has created collaborative, visionary works of art reflecting various neighborhoods’ culture, love of land, rights for self determination & permanence. To see how Aresh has planted the seeds of art, education and community empowerment in neighborhoods facing environmental injustice over the years, check out the “Projects Gallery” page.

Aresh’s work as a visual artist with the themes of community, nature, and social justice has received recognition from local organizations, including GreenThumb, the NYC Parks Department, and several community gardens. He has also received international recognition by the Iran International Green Film & Art Festival and media attention in press, books, and film.

In recent years, Aresh has moved towards community artmaking with living and Earth-based materials. While BIPOC neighborhoods face the impacts of environmental racism, AreshEarth’s living willow sculptures project engages neighbors in weaving a forested canopy of willows into the urban landscape of the South Bronx and the Lower East Side. These art projects improve air quality and local health, foster community empowerment, beautify neighborhoods, provide wildlife habitats, mitigate flood risk, and inspire joy. For more information and photos, check out the “Living Willow Installations” page.