Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Guyanese British artist Hew Locke has long explored the legacies of empire and migration, as well as the fragile ecologies of the Caribbean. His richly layered works provide a compelling lens through which to consider the environmental precarity facing Guyana today. Join Jemma Field, Associate Head of Research, YCBA, and Claire Hoffmann, Head of Partnerships at the Yale Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, as they discuss how Locke’s art engages with themes of climate vulnerability, resource extraction, and resilience in one of the world’s most biodiverse nations. The conversation will also touch on the new alliance, launched in July 2025, between the Guyana Environmental Protection Agency and the Yale Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, and how collaborative research in science, data, and technology is shaping responses to the region’s environmental challenges.
About Claire Hoffmann
Claire Hoffmann is Head of Partnerships at the Yale Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, which is dedicated to research and education to support the understanding and conservation of global diversity in a rapidly changing world. She holds an MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation, and Management from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Fisheries and Wildlife from Michigan State University. Her work centers on the alignment of communication, research, and relationships to maximize conservation impact. She has worked closely with policy makers, corporations, NGOs, practitioner, and storytellers around the world to better incorporate biodiversity into legal frameworks, management policies, and communication strategies. The Yale Center for Biodiversity and Global Change is a founding member of Guyana's new Global Biodiversity Alliance, so Claire is currently working closely with the government of Guyana in support of this initiative. She is also in close collaboration with a consortium of government agencies, NGOs, and Indigenous and community leaders in Guyana to establish their national biodiversity monitoring initiative.
About Jemma Field
Jemma Field is Associate Head of Research at the Yale Center for British Art. A cultural historian and museum professional, she creates programs that connect people, art, and ideas—making history and culture accessible, relevant, and alive to contemporary questions of identity, place, and change. She is the author of "Anna of Denmark: The Material and Visual Culture of the Stuart Courts, 1589–1619" (2020) and has published widely on gender, dress, and visual culture. Her current research explores how people in early modern England negotiated sociopolitical change through acts of making, storytelling, and display.
Guyanese British artist Hew Locke has long explored the legacies of empire and migration, as well as the fragile ecologies of the Caribbean. His richly layered works provide a compelling lens through which to consider the environmental precarity facing Guyana today. Join Jemma Field, Associate Head of Research, YCBA, and Claire Hoffmann, Head of Partnerships at the Yale Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, as they discuss how Locke’s art engages with themes of climate vulnerability, resource extraction, and resilience in one of the world’s most biodiverse nations. The conversation will also touch on the new alliance, launched in July 2025, between the Guyana Environmental Protection Agency and the Yale Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, and how collaborative research in science, data, and technology is shaping responses to the region’s environmental challenges.
About Claire Hoffmann
Claire Hoffmann is Head of Partnerships at the Yale Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, which is dedicated to research and education to support the understanding and conservation of global diversity in a rapidly changing world. She holds an MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation, and Management from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Fisheries and Wildlife from Michigan State University. Her work centers on the alignment of communication, research, and relationships to maximize conservation impact. She has worked closely with policy makers, corporations, NGOs, practitioner, and storytellers around the world to better incorporate biodiversity into legal frameworks, management policies, and communication strategies. The Yale Center for Biodiversity and Global Change is a founding member of Guyana's new Global Biodiversity Alliance, so Claire is currently working closely with the government of Guyana in support of this initiative. She is also in close collaboration with a consortium of government agencies, NGOs, and Indigenous and community leaders in Guyana to establish their national biodiversity monitoring initiative.
About Jemma Field
Jemma Field is Associate Head of Research at the Yale Center for British Art. A cultural historian and museum professional, she creates programs that connect people, art, and ideas—making history and culture accessible, relevant, and alive to contemporary questions of identity, place, and change. She is the author of "Anna of Denmark: The Material and Visual Culture of the Stuart Courts, 1589–1619" (2020) and has published widely on gender, dress, and visual culture. Her current research explores how people in early modern England negotiated sociopolitical change through acts of making, storytelling, and display.
