"Got Drought?" Public Art Project About the California Drought to Be Unveiled on Billboards Throughout Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California, December 1, 2015 (Newswire.com) - ​​​Los Angeles based artists Karen Fiorito and Alex Arinsberg have successfully raised over $6,000 in grants and crowdfunding to erect twelve billboards throughout Los Angeles from November 30 – December 27 to raise public consciousness about the seriousness of agriculture’s impact on drought-ridden California.  Grants from the Pollination Project and A Well Fed World along with a successful crowdfunding campaign have provided Karen and Alex the means to secure two 14 foot x 48 foot billboards in the Downtown and Silverlake areas.  Ten additional 5 foot x 11 foot billboards will be displayed in Hollywood, Culver City, Santa Monica, Marina Del Rey and other locations.  (Specific location list provided below.)

According to a recent study, 47% of California’s total water is used up by Animal Agriculture.  1300 gallons of water is required to make one hamburger versus 42 gallons for one veggie burger.  Consequently, California residents are required to reduce water consumption by 25%; even though residential water use accounts for only 4% of California’s total water footprint.

"I feel like the information about the meat and dairy industry's impact on the drought is not getting out to the public. This is our way of getting the message out to the masses and inspiring people to change their behavior to reduce water consumption."

Karen Fiorito, Project Manager/Artist

“I feel like the information about the meat and dairy industry’s impact on the drought is not getting out to the public.  This is our way of getting the message out to the masses and inspiring people to change their behavior to reduce water consumption,” says artist Karen Fiorito. 

The billboards will be unveiled to the public in Los Angeles beginning November 30, 2015 as part of the Vision LA Fest and in unison with the UN Climate Summit in Paris.

About Karen Fiorito:

Karen Fiorito is a vegan artist, activist and curator living in Santa Monica, CA. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in over 100 exhibitions and featured in major publications such as Art in America, the Huffington Post, the LA Weekly, and URB Magazine

About VisionLAFest:

The Vision LA Climate Action Arts Festival is a citywide arts festival. Happening throughout the greater Los Angeles area from Monday, November 30 to Friday, December 11, 2015, VisionLA ‘15 aims to stimulate a creative response to the climate crisis through arts engagement. The multidisciplinary festival coincides with the United Nations 21st Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP21) in Paris and is inspired by the concurrent ArtCOP21, a Paris-wide arts festival which advocates for a strong international climate treaty and sustainable change.                                                                                                        

Media Contact:

Karen Fiorito                           

(213) 259-4234

karen@karenfiorito.com

For more information, please visit:

gotdrought (dot) com

Facebook: gotdrought

Twitter: @gotdrought

VisionLAFest: visionlafest (dot) org

Billboard Locations:

• 14' x 48' Large Billboards:
  • Downtown LA: Los Angeles St., East Side, 100ft North of the Santa Monica Freeway, Facing North
  • Silverlake: Beverly Blvd., North Side, 50ft East of Virgil,  Facing West

• 5' x 11' Small Billboards:
  • Culver City: Overland Ave EL 145F N Of Regent ST SF
  • Culver City: Culver Dr NL 100F E Of Inglewood Blvd WF
  • Hollywood: Argyle Ave WL 170F S Of Yucca ST NF
  • Hollywood: Schraeder Blvd (Hudson) EL 110F N/O Selma SF
  • Hollywood: Willoughby Ave SL SL 116F W Of Highland EF
  • Marina Del Rey: Lincoln Blvd EL 579F S Of Washington SF
  • Santa Monica: Barrington WL 187' S/O Santa Monica NF
  • West LA: Beverly Blvd NL 80F E Of St Andrews PL EF
  • West LA: National Blvd NL 59F W Of Westwood Blvd WF
  • West LA: Barrington EL 50F S Of Pico Blvd SF