Art and Environmental Justice: How Art Can Promote a Sustainable Future
Art and Environmental Justice: How Art Can Promote a Sustainable Future
By Dr Joshua Y’Barbo (7 May 2024)
Introduction
As an artist-in-residence for the TEAM LEWIS Foundation, I research important social and sustainability issues within art and culture at the intersections of the creative and communication industries. Last month, I hosted Earth Day, which inspired me to write about how art can promote a more sustainable future.
Art has been a powerful tool for advocacy throughout history, particularly in global challenges we’ve faced over recent decades. In more recent years, art projects have become a means of promoting environmental justice.
Art has the capacity to raise awareness, to engage creativity for addressing complex problems, and may also support transformation to sustainability (Dieleman 2017). However, the impact and outcome of a given climate-art project depends on the very nature of it.
Bentz (2020)
Art can play a vital role in advocating climate justice by inspiring creative solutions and promoting sustainability. The effectiveness of a climate art project relies on artists’ use of their platforms to raise awareness and inspire action.
[…] the arts might be utilized to help increase understanding and knowledge of natural resources issues: improving presentations; improving public campaigns and general awareness-raising; aiding facilitation and community development; reinforcing values and beliefs; and helping build a culture that is environmentally sustainable.
Curtis (2011)
The arts can enhance climate justice campaigns by facilitating, reinforcing values, and visualising solutions to complex problems. Therefore, art can advocate for environmental justice by raising awareness about environmental issues through visual representation and storytelling. Art can inspire action by engaging emotions and fostering a connection to the natural world. Also, art can facilitate dialogue and collaboration between diverse communities, promoting a shared vision for a sustainable future.
Artists and their projects have been crucial in creating awareness about the significance of environmentally and socially sustainable issues on a global level. For example, Konstantin Dimopoulos' ongoing project, The Blue Trees, Olafur Eliasson - an artist and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador, HA Schult's Trash People, The Climate Ribbon Project, Plastic Ocean by Tan Zi Xi, and the UAL Climate Emergency Network are all excellent examples of the arts used as a medium to raise awareness about the connection between environmental and social sustainability on an international scale. These artists and projects remind us that our planet's health is more crucial to our coexistence and future than the financial and economic systems we have built from the planet's resources.
The Power of Visual Representation and Storytelling in Raising Environmental Awareness
Art has a unique power to convey messages and inspire action. Art can be an incredibly effective tool when raising awareness about environmental issues. Through visual representation and storytelling, artists can help people understand the urgency and importance of taking action to protect our planet. One example includes The Egyptian-born Greek artist Konstantin Dimopoulos’s The Blue Trees (2011, 2013, 2014-2016), first shown at the Vancouver Biennale and since expanding across sites in the United States and London. The artist stated for the Vancouver Biennale,
In my environmental art installation, The Blue Trees, the colour and the Tree come together to transform and affect each other; the colour changing the Tree into something surreal, while the Tree, rooted in this earth reflects what we may lose. This change highlights ecological issues, such as the ecocide of our forests and climate change, and effects a transformation in the psyche of people by raising our social consciousness referencing how individually and collectively we shape the world we inhabit.
K. Dimopoulos (2016)
The blue-coloured trees in the installation represent deforestation and climate change. The aim is to raise people's awareness of the impact of their actions on the environment and encourage them to reflect on and act to preserve nature.
Another example includes the Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, whose environmental awareness-raising works include The Glacier Melt Series (1999, 2019), which reflects the disappearance of the polar ice caps due to neglect and inactivity.
Highly regarded for his artistic work and efforts to advance sustainable development with a focus on renewable energy and climate action, Eliasson will, as Goodwill Ambassador, advocate for urgent climate action, helping UNDP to raise awareness and mobilize support for the fight against the effects of climate change through projects that promote renewable energy, reduce CO2 emissions and protect our planet for generations to come.
undp.org (nd)
Eliasson (2019) considers protecting the environment, including our remaining glaciers, essential. The artist believes that each loss reflects our inaction while saving our delicate ecosystem, which is a testament to our actions. He hopes that we will collectively celebrate our ability to survive and not mourn the loss of a habitable planet.
By conveying complex environmental issues in a way that is accessible and emotionally resonant, art can inspire people to act in their own lives and communities. Whether through paintings, sculptures, or installations, art has the power to spark conversations, build community, and ultimately drive change. In this way, art can play a critical role in creating a more sustainable and just world.
Art in Fostering Connection and Inspiring Environmental Action through Emotion
Art connects us to nature and inspires us to protect it. Art that highlights the beauty and fragility of our planet evokes emotions that remind us of our interdependence with the environment. This emotional connection can motivate us to act in self-preservation for future generations.
For example, the Climate Ribbon is a space designed for people to express their grief for everything endangered by Climate Chaos. It is an art installation consisting of ribbons, each telling a story about something precious at risk, such as clean air, water, and our children's future (theclimateribbon.org, nd).
The Climate Ribbon uses art and ritual to grieve what we each stand to lose to Climate Chaos, and affirms our solidarity as we unite to fight against it. […] People from all over the world are sharing what they most love — "Next year’s harvest" or "Miami, my city" — that they don’t want to lose to Climate Chaos. They're sharing ribbons and committing themselves to work to beat back Climate Chaos so that our worst fears never come true. Together, our commitments weave a giant thread connecting all of us as we work for a healthy, sustainable planet.
theclimateribbon.org (nd)
The Climate Ribbon project is an excellent example of how art can be a powerful tool to foster connections and inspire environmental action by eliciting emotional responses. The project connects participants worldwide to tap into individual emotions, specifically grief and loss, to encourage action towards preventing the loss of our sustainable planet. By doing so, they pledge to collaborate and prevent worst-case scenarios. The emotional impact of the arts fuels this collaborative effort towards a sustainable future and has the potential to inspire others to take action in their own communities. You can download the Climate Ribbon toolkit from the website here.
Another example is Plastic Ocean (2016) by Tan Zi Xi, which consists of more than 20,000 pieces of reclaimed plastic waste that hang together to create an ocean-like installation highly cluttered with plastic that will take 1,000 years to degrade. The artist’s Vimeo page states,
The installation seeks to scrutinize our daily consumption of plastics and reflect the negative effects we have made on our environment. I hope to reinforce empathy and consciousness for our underwater creatures and landscape. Immersed in this poignant installation, I hope that visitors would be drawn to reconsider their contribution of personal daily waste and how unsustainable our culture of convenience is.
MessyMsxi (2024)
The installation aims to raise awareness about our daily use of plastics and its harmful impact on the environment by inspiring compassion and mindfulness for our ocean ecosystems and the life they sustain. Through art, the installation hopes to encourage visitors to reassess their waste production and embrace a more eco-conscious lifestyle, thus inspiring environmental sustainability for the survival of humanity.
Art Promoting a Shared Vision for a Sustainable Future through Dialogue and Collaboration Between Diverse Communities
Art has the potential to be a powerful tool for promoting a sustainable future by facilitating collaboration and dialogue between diverse communities. When people from different backgrounds come together to create or experience art, they can gain new perspectives and develop a shared vision for a more sustainable world.
For example, the German artist HA Schult's Trash People (1996 - present) is a series of life-sized human figures made entirely from the waste of consumer culture. The artist places these figures in public spaces worldwide to highlight the significant environmental damage caused by plastic and other commercial waste, which often goes unnoticed by the international public. According to Schult (1999), ‘The pyramids of the present are the garbage dumps. On them the consumer society lets grow the blossoms to flowers of civilization. The children of Coca-Cola and Vietnam, of Red Bull and Beirut skip 6000 years of history’. Schult's work on an international scale highlights the interconnection among us through shared consumer products and the collective impact of our inaction. As inhabitants of a planet, we share and deplete its resources, and our failure to act will lead to the ruin of our world, which future generations may discover buried in the sands of time.
Another example is the UAL Climate Emergency Network (CEN), a platform that is not structured hierarchically and is spreading across different areas. It enables creative ideas to be used to take action against climate change throughout UAL Colleges and with external collaborators. The network comprises a community consisting of students and academic staff from UAL and multiple non-profit public art institutions and organisations.
Our purpose is to foster an internal movement for change. We aim to give opportunities for everyone to engage in climate action. We host monthly Climate Cafés and seasonal Climate Circles. We develop campaigns, actions, and activities to show that the arts can, and must, respond to the climate and ecological emergency.
arts.ac.uk (2024)
The CEN is building a movement of staff, students, and external partners advocating for change to create a community and shared vision for a sustainable future. The movement works with partners from various sectors to advocate for policy changes and develop multi-disciplinary approaches to campaigning and advocacy. By collaborating and inspiring others to act, the CEN can create a shared vision that prioritises environmental protection by collaborating and inspiring others to act.
By encouraging communication and cooperation, art can help break down barriers and foster understanding between people who might not otherwise interact. Through this process, art can be vital in building a more sustainable and equitable future for all.
Conclusion
Art can be crucial in promoting environmental justice by utilising visual representation and storytelling to raise awareness about environmental issues. By evoking emotions and fostering a sense of connection to the natural world, art can inspire action and encourage people to work towards preserving the environment. Additionally, art can serve as a platform for facilitating dialogue and collaboration between diverse communities, helping to promote a shared vision for creating a sustainable future.
Consequentially, it is also essential to recognise that emotions can be fleeting and may not necessarily lead to long-term behaviour change. For example, a person may feel moved by a piece of environmental art and vow to change their lifestyle, but without proper education and support, they may quickly revert to their old habits. Additionally, not everyone may respond to art similarly, as individuals have different tastes, preferences, or visions of a shared future. While art can be a powerful tool for raising awareness and inspiring action, it should complement other strategies such as education, policy changes, and community engagement to ensure a more comprehensive approach to promoting environmental sustainability.
Climate change is one of our planet's most pressing issues, and we all have a role to play in addressing it. As we've seen, art can be a powerful tool in promoting environmental justice and inspiring action. Therefore, I call upon artists, organisations, and communities worldwide to use art to advocate for climate justice. By raising awareness and fostering connections between people and nature, art can inspire individuals to act in their daily lives and demand systemic change from policymakers. Let's work together to create a world where art is not just a means of expression but a catalyst for change. Let's use our creativity and passion to advocate for a sustainable and just future for all. Together, we can make a difference.
References
arts.ac.uk (2024) Climate emergency network: Changing the way we work together. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/about-ual/climate-action-plan/climate-emergency-network (Accessed: 07 May 2024).
Bentz, J. (2020). Learning about climate change in, with and through art. Climatic Change 162, 1595–1612. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-020-02804-4
Dieleman, H. (2017). Arts-based education for an enchanting, embodied and transdisciplinary sustainability. Artizein: Arts and Teaching Journal 2(2):16.
Eliasson, O. (2019). The Glacier Melt Series 1999/2019. glaciermelt.is. Available at: https://glaciermelt.is/ (Accessed 07 May 2024).
MessyMsxi (2024) Plastic Ocean by Tan Zi Xi.Vimeo. Available at: https://vimeo.com/185041614 (Accessed: 07 May 2024).
Schult, H (1999). Action Trash People. haschult.de. Available at: https://www.haschult.de/action/trashpeople (Accessed: 07 May 2024).
The climateribbon.org (nd). About. Available at: https://www.theclimateribbon.org/about-the-project#origins (Accessed: 07 May 2024).
The climateribbon.org (nd). The Project. Available at: https://www.theclimateribbon.org/project#home (Accessed: 07 May 2024).
undp.org (nd). Olafur Eliasson.. Available at: https://www.undp.org/goodwill-ambassadors/Olafur-Eliasson (Accessed: 07 May 2024).
Vancouver Biennale (2016). The Blue Trees by Konstantin Dimopoulos (virtual art tour). Available at: https://vimeo.com/152333703 (Accessed: 07 May 2024).
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