From 1995-1998, Mel Chin spearheaded the Gala Committee, a collective that produced the public art project “In the Name of the Place”, conducted on American prime-time television. In 2018 he filled New York’s Times Square with “Wake”, on the ground, and “Unmoored” in the air; two pieces that transported viewers into a past maritime industry and a future of rising waters. He is the recipient of many awards, grants, and honorary degrees including a 2019 MacArthur Fellowship.