Artist's Central Park polar bear snow sculptures represent threat of climate change

Saturday, February 20, 2021
CENTRAL PARK, Manhattan (WABC) -- A local artist has made use of the recent snowstorms to craft bear sculptures in New York City.

Heide Hatry is the German American artist who created polar bear displays inside Central Park.

Of course they'll melt soon -- but that's Hatry's point.

She says the sculptures are a symbol of the existential threat of climate change.

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Hatry says if you want to communicate a message, then you need to get people's attention.

"You have to first make something beautiful or attractive and then people stop and have some kind of positive feeling and only then have some kind of possibility to actually talk to them," Hatry said.

The bear sculptures are mostly displayed on the west side around 80th Street.

The artist says she invites children passing by to hug the bears.

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