Ms. Dakota Gearhart is an interdisciplinary artist based in New York. Her artwork examines the environment and how it is perceived. She is the creator of a collaborative animated series called Life Touching Life that invites scientists, researchers, and caretakers to share observations on consciousness and its relationship to biodiversity. Her work has been supported by the New Museum, United States Artists, Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission, Franklin Furnace, and the National Endowment for the Arts, and more. She teaches as a visiting faculty at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.
Ms. Gearhart’s Fulbright-Nehru research project is developing a collaborative animated video series called Animating Ecology exploring India’s ecological knowledge through folk art, music, and storytelling. Working with Indian scholars, artists, and musicians, she is cocreating four episodes inspired by the Sundarbans, Western Ghats, Thar Desert, and Khangchendzonga by integrating regional artistic traditions. She is also conducting workshops and making public presentations. The project culminates in screening tours in India and New York aimed at advancing cultural exchange, collective education, and Fulbright’s mission of international understanding.