Stilling

Program Note

Stilling was inspired by the article “Global ‘Stilling’: Is Climate Change  Slowing Down the Wind?" by Jim Robbins. The study of wind is relatively  new, but as more tools are developed to measure surface winds and their  effects, we’re beginning to understand that the importance of wind has  long been underestimated. It plays an integral role in plant growth and  surface cooling, and also drives the Gulf Stream, which creates global  climates.

But  wind patterns are changing- in some regions, the wind is picking up,  destroying trees and exacerbating wildfires. In others, the wind is  slowing down, or “stilling.” And as the winds diminish, the Gulf Stream  creates more intense storms and harsher droughts.

With  this in mind, Stilling explores the different qualities of wind: how it  can be soft and strong, invigorating and fierce, stagnant or  tempestuous, soothing or unnerving. It asks, is it more unsettling when  the wind is shrieking, or when it’s still?