Transmuting the Wound: Operations on Nature Consciousness

Nocturnal Medicine is a nonprofit studio for climate consciousness and cultural transformation. Founded in 2021 by Larissa Belcic and Michelle Farang Shofet, the collective weaves together nightlife, the healing arts, and design to reconnect us with our world and help us meet the environmental challenges of today. 
 
Amongst their body of work, Nocturnal Medicine has created sanctuaries for ecological grief, climate-aware seasonal rites, chapels for extinction, and raves for public healing. They have designed immersive social experiences across diverse platforms, including in nightclubs (Nowadays, Gospel), cultural centers (Lincoln Center, Performance Space NY), and universities across the country (Yale, UVA, MIT, Syracuse). Their work has been celebrated in The New York Times and CityLab as bringing a cutting-edge, soul-centered approach to addressing the psycho-emotional impacts of climate crisis.  
 
Belcic and Shofet first met in 2013 while studying landscape architecture at the Harvard GSD. Since then, they have been digging deep into questions of environment and the cultural soul through an array of experimental channels. Belcic & Shofet lecture on sustainability, design, and ecological consciousness at RISD and The New School, respectively, and co-teach at Columbia University GSAPP. They have presented their work at a range of institutions including The New Museum, The Brooklyn Museum, and The BioDesign Challenge Summit. 

If you require any accessibility accommodation, such as live captioning, audio description, or a sign language interpreter, please email news@design.upenn.edu. Please note, we require at least five (5) business days’ notice.