Broken umbrellas used to create art & environmental awareness.

Kickstarter funding, where any individual can back potential projects with a pledge starting from only $1, has been reached for the creation of a beautiful dome sculpture 'Harvest Dome 2.0' to be made out of discarded pop bottles and broken umbrellas in New York.

The project, which asked for $7500, and actually received $7596, aims to raise awareness of the debris that clogs New York’s waterways, threatening fish and other forms of wildlife. The project is the brainchild of husband and wife Alex Levi and Amanda Schachter, New York City Architects who returned to New York in 2007 after ten years creating Public Art, and practicing architecture in Spain. 

The funding is for their second version of the dome; the first ended in disaster. On October 19, 2011, they transported the original Harvest Dome over water from Hunts Point to the Inwood Hill Park Inlet, with the help of Rocking the Boat and the Bronx River Alliance, but bad weather caused the dome to be blown against Rikers Island. What was left of the dome was then seized and broken up by the New York City Department of Correction (though the project eventually reclaimed the remains and will display them alongside the new Harvest Dome).

The Harvest Dome 2.0, a 24 foot diameter sphere, will introduce light into the work, and have an array of light-emitting-diodes, inserted into each of the bottles and powered by tiny photovoltaic cells to create a glowing halo in the water at night.

They are currently working with groups local along the Harlem River to secure a location to construct the Dome nearer Inwood Hill Park.  NYC Department of Park and Recreation has already obtained permission for them to put the Dome in the inlet waters.