SAN FRANCISCO, September 11 /PRNewswire/ --

- Symposium to Coincide with the Opening of Art Exhibit 
Melting Ice - A Hot Topic: Envisioning Change in Brussels on 5 October 2007

The Natural World Museum (NWM) partners with the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) through the global "Art For the Environment"
initiative, a curatorial program that utilizes the universal language of art
as a catalyst to unite people in action and thought on a broad spectrum of
environmental topics. As part of the "Art For the Environment" program, NWM
is hosting a traveling exhibit entitled Melting Ice / A Hot Topic:
Envisioning Change, which kicked off its tour in Oslo at the Nobel Peace
Center during UN World Environment Day in June, and will next arrive at the
BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels, on 5 October 2007.

"UNEP and NWM have joined forces to generate environmental awareness
through the Art for the Environment initiative," said Achim Steiner, Under
Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UNEP. "This
initiative utilizes the universal language of art as a catalyst to unite
people in action and thought and to empower individuals, communities, and
leaders to focus on environmental values across social, economic, and
political realms."

Melting Ice / A Hot Topic: Envisioning Change features more than 40
international artists from 25 countries and will coincide with NWM and UNEP's
annual international symposium of acclaimed speakers.

As the capital of Europe, Brussels is the ideal city on this exhibit tour
to host NWM and UNEP's annual international symposium discussing critical
social, economic and political aspects of global warming from diverse
perspectives. The symposium, coinciding with the exhibit opening, aims to
foster a deeper understanding of the causes and effects of climate change, as
well as discuss sustainable solutions for individuals, communities and
industries.

Melting Ice / A Hot Topic: Envisioning Change features paintings,
sculptures, photography, multimedia and conceptual installations to explore
such questions as "What is climate change?" "What are the political
implications?" "How does sustainable development create a pathway to peace?"
and "Why should we care?"

These questions will also be addressed by the symposium's panelists: Carl
Bass, President and CEO of Autodesk; David Guggenheim, President of 1 Ocean 1
Planet; Peter Matthiessen, Novelist and Environmental Activist; Subhankar
Banerjee, Artist and Educator; and moderated by Haroldo Castro, Conservation
Filmmaker and Journalist.

"The Natural World Museum is not a traditional museum, it's a museum
without walls," stated Mia Hanak, Founding Executive Director of the Natural
World Museum. "We offer traveling curatorial programs with environmentally
inspired art to a broad spectrum of people. By presenting innovative programs
that parallel our exhibits, such as this symposium, we provide creative
resources to engage our international audience in sustainable actions."

Transcending the traditional museum venue, the Natural World Museum is a
mobile and global cultural institution that presents art through innovative
programs to inspire and engage the public in environmental awareness and
action. NWM has already produced exhibits in partnership with UNEP in cities
such as Algiers, Nairobi, Oslo, and San Francisco.

The current international exhibit tour of Envisioning Change, sponsored
by Autodesk -- a global design software leader -- will remain at the BOZAR
Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels, Belgium from 6 October 2007 -- 6 January
2008 and travel on to Monaco and Chicago in 2008.

"Autodesk is proud to be supporting the Natural World Museum and the UN
Environment Programme through this important international exhibition," said
Carl Bass, President and CEO of Autodesk. "Together we will further the
dialog about promoting smart growth in a sustainable world, and demonstrate
the critical role design can play in this process."

While the effects of climate change are taking place on a global level,
from the Andes to the Arctic, from Africa to Asia and the Americas, Natural
World Museum's curator Randy Rosenberg states "We've asked artists from
around the world to focus on just one dimension: the thawing and melting of
the ice caps and permafrost, and the implications for humans and other
species."

Artists participating in Melting Ice / A Hot Topic: Envisioning Change,
including Subhankar Banerjee, Bobert Bateman, Alfio Bonanno, David Buckland,
Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Margaret Cogswell, Sebastian Copeland, Xavier
Cortada, Siobhan Davies, Era & Don Farnsworth, Helen Mayer Harrison & Newton
Harrison, Mona Hatoum, David & Hi-Jin Hodge, Laura Horelli, Gary Hume,
Icelandic Love Corporation, Ichi Ikeda, Svein Flygari Johansen, Chris Jordan,
Yoshiaki Kaihatsu, Fred Ivar Utsi Klemetsen, Angela Lergo, Jonas Liverod,
Ives Maes, Dalibor Martinis, Strijdom Van Der Merwe, Jacob McKean, Gilles
Mingasson, David Nash, Lucy & Jorge Orta, Sven Pahlsson, Cecilia Paredes,
Shana & Robert Parkeharrison, Andrea Polli, Ana Prvacki, Kahn Selesnick, Anne
Senstad, David Trubridge, Theo Wujcik, and Justin Young.

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For more details on the symposium and exhibit please visit the online
Press Pages at: http://www.artintoaction.org/__documents/brussels.html

Web site: http://www.artintoaction.org