Leah Davidson

Andrew W. Mellon Undergraduate Fellow in the Humanities

20142015 Forum on Color

Leah Davidson

2014-15 Undergraduate Humanities Forum Chair

Management and Global Innovation

Wharton, 2016

Leah Davidson is a junior in Wharton concentrating in management and global innovation. She has created a microfinance program to incubate businesses in rural Peru, launched Act for Antarctica, a youth-led campaign to protect the polar regions, and reported on the World Economic Forum concerning the intersection of sustainability and business innovation for Pro Journo and The Huffington Post. She is currently working with Prof. Bethany Wiggin to start the Penn Program in the Environmental Humanities Lab. She also is working with youth delegates from the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development to lead a children’s art and multimedia competition in preparation for the December 2015 COP21 in Paris. Her research interests include environmental art and psychology, entrepreneurship, and intercultural relations. On campus, Leah is a Wharton Social Impact Fellow with the Urban Nutrition Initiative, Turner Social Impact Society Fellow, Benjamin Franklin/Joseph Wharton Scholar, and Wharton Research Scholar.

The Colors of Environmental Art: A Study of Psychology and Activism

Environmental art can reinterpret natural processes, generate awareness about environmental problems, restore damaged ecosystems, and convey the power and beauty of nature and wildlife. The purpose of this project is to investigate the symbolism of color in environmental art and photography and its relationship to human psychology.  To survey the field of environmental art, I visited galleries and interviewed artists in the field, with the purpose of analyzing 50 significant pieces of art that represent a variety of genres, colors, and cultural heritages. The final project will analyze the future potential of art as a tool for social change and lead to the creation of a digital platform at Penn to showcase interdisciplinary student projects.