Little faces watched eagerly all afternoon as Felipe Ortiz worked. Children’s voices called out questions (”What is that?”) and offered words of encouragement (“Good job!”). Some watched silently, trying to puzzle out the image Felipe was slowly teasing out from the sidewalk with chalk and charcoal.

The 93 year old Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s polka dots made me question my boundaries. Polka dots on the background, the foreground, on all bodies and objects, obscuring the usual rules that guide perception of distance and scale, confusing the distinction between ceiling and floor, close and far, object and self.

The GRC has joined with the City of Boston and nearly 40 of Boston’s top cultural institutions to unveil Action Pact 2022, a first-of-its-kind public awareness campaign that will engage, educate and draw attention to the pressing issue of climate change.