To enter the UN building, please pick up your tickets from the Turkish House across the UN entrance at 821 First Avenue, NY, 10017, before the event

Artist: Pia Bozyel

Artist, Writer, and Sustainability Advocate

Pia Bozyel (1987, Turkiye) is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and sustainability advocate based in New York. Her work addresses pressing global issues such as environmental justice, the impact of war on children, and the ecological damage caused by modern consumer culture. Bozyel primarily uses recycled materials, such as cardboard and fabric, in her art practice, highlighting both material waste and the transformative power of art.

She is also the founder and president of GREENEARTH Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting sustainable living and raising global awareness about the climate crisis. Through its projects, GREENEARTH Fund connects the worlds of art and environmental consciousness.

In addition to her artistic and organizational work, Pia Bozyel regularly writes for the Turkish Journal, closely following climate policies and sustainability agendas at the United Nations, and reporting developments in this field to the public. She also serves as a jury member and mentor for international programs such as the Hult Prize and TÜBÄ°TAK BIGG, supporting sustainability-focused initiatives by young entrepreneurs.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

COVID-19 & Consumer Frenzy

Garanti BBVA, Turkey — May 2022

Bozyel’s first solo exhibition questioned the consumer frenzy that paralleled the social fragmentation caused by the pandemic. The works, created with recycled cardboard and fabric, visualized a new world where isolation, fear, and shopping culture intertwined.

Echoes of Narcissus

Turkevi Center, New York — June 2024

This exhibition reinterpreted iconic artworks in light of modern consumerism and environmental destruction. Using cardboard boxes as canvases, Bozyel’s works revealed the emptiness of excessive consumption, inviting viewers to reflect on sustainability. The exhibition encouraged visitors to reconsider their material desires and embrace sustainable living.

War Tears, Peace Repairs

United Nations, New York — June 2025

This exhibition illuminates the devastating impact of war on children. Handcrafted teddy bears, with one side black and the other adorned with floral patterns, symbolize both the darkness of war and the hope for peace. The exhibition also features cardboard banners and fabric brooches with messages written from the perspective of children who lost their lives in war, emphasizing the healing power of peace.

Artistic Practice and Mission

Pia Bozyel’s art is not only an aesthetic expression but also an ethical call to action. She addresses issues like war, climate crisis, and consumerism, urging viewers not only to think but also to act. By using recycled materials, she aims to respect environmental resources and give voice to forgotten, suppressed narratives.

In her work, art is not just a medium of expression; it is a tool for compassion, activism, and social healing. Each detail in her exhibitions, like the floral motifs in “War Tears, Peace Repairs,” carries the fragility of life and the belief that peace can be rebuilt. Bozyel’s works encourage empathy and invite viewers to look at the world with greater sensitivity.

Moderator and Curator: Elisa Bertaglia

Elisa Bertaglia (1983, Rovigo, Italy) is an Italian visual artist based in Brooklyn, New York. In 2009, Bertaglia got her MFA at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice. Since then she has exhibited her work all over the world in important venues and shows, among these we can mention “Hic sunt Leones”, Palazzo Madama, Turin, Italy; “CAF — Nebula”, Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, Japan; 54th Venice Biennale, Academy Pavilion, Arsenale, Venice, Italy; “Art and Science”, Guggenheim Museum, Venice, Italy (2010). Her work has been selected for many awards, including the Exibart Prize (Rome), Arte Laguna Prize (Venice), Sunny Art Prize (London), OTTN (Milan), and Bevilacqua La Masa (Venice). Elisa Bertaglia was selected for various artist residencies such as ESKFF, at MANA Contemporary (Jersey City), Kunstraum (Brooklyn), Dolomiti Contemporanee and Progetto Borca (Italy), RU Residency Unlimited (Brooklyn). Recently, she was invited for an artist residency at the ICAA, the Institute of Classic Architecture and Art in Manhattan, where she will have a two-person show this fall. Her works are held in distinguished permanent collections such as the Collection City of Milan, Banca Sistema, and Eileen S. Kaminsky Family Foundation. Bertaglia also worked as curator for different exhibitions, such as “Devozioni Domestiche”, which she co-curated with Riccardo Caldura for the Galleria Contemporanea in Mestre, Venice, and for which she published a critical essay in the exhibition catalog.

Curator: Gabriele Grones

Gabriele Grones (1983, Arabba, Italy) is a contemporary painter whose meticulous, contemplative works engage deeply with the traditions of figurative painting. He earned his MFA from the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice in 2009 and is currently based in Brooklyn, New York.

Grones has participated in two editions of the Venice Biennale: the collateral event “Atelier Aperti” in 2005 and the “Academies Pavilion” at the Arsenale in 2011. In 2008, he was selected for the prestigious BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London. In 2021, Grones held a solo exhibition at Ca Pesaro — International Museum of Modern Art (Venice). His work has been exhibited in numerous international institutions, including the National Portrait Gallery (London), the Royal Society of Painters (London), MEAM — European Museum of Modern Art (Barcelona), MART Museum (Rovereto), Palazzo Fulcis Museum (Belluno), Fort Wayne Museum of Art (Fort Wayne), Museum of Art (Cluj-Napoca), National Museum of Fine Arts (Valletta ), Volkskunstmuseum (Innsbruck). He has received several awards, such as the “Level 0 Prize” in 2020, and has taken part in prominent artist residencies, including the ESKFF Foundation at Mana Contemporary (Jersey City), RU — Residency Unlimited (Brooklyn), and ICAA — Institute of Classical Architecture and Art (New York).

About the Exhibition

War Tears, Peace Repairs is a personal art exhibition by artist Pia Bozyel, hosted at the United Nations Headquarters. Centered around a fabric teddy bear—half black, half patterned—the exhibition explores the devastating impact of war on childhood and the healing power of peace.

Through handcrafted objects, recycled materials, and poetic installations, Bozyel invites visitors to witness silenced stories and respond with empathy and hope.

Time: 6:00-8:00 pm EST

Free!

Registration