For Olivia Oguadinma in Nigeria, storytelling has become central to her life. Though she is studying to be a chemical engineer, it is her passion to promote the UN Sustainability Goals among her peers that has led her into storytelling through her podcast, Gems on Earth. For the Art House, Olivia discusses the role of storytelling in motivating her peers toward meaningful action.
While in university in Nigeria, Olivia joined Enactus, the world’s largest experiential learning platform. Through the projects she helped organize with fellow Enactus members, she was able to put into practice some of her ideas about storytelling and social change. She then decided to form a learning community. Now, in this time of pandemic lockdown, she has turned to the internet, and through her Gems on Earth podcast, she reaches young people throughout Western Africa and beyond.
Artist Shane Petzer in Barrydale, South Africa talks about turning trash into art. Through the Magpie Art Collective, he and fellow artists create breathtakingly beautiful chandeliers all made from trash. Two of these hung in the White House in Obama’s private quarters. During this time of coronavirus lockdown, members of the Magpie Art Collective have partnered with the Quakers in the Western Cape to create #QuakerPeaceDoves. Find out about how you can take part in the collective remotely and turn your trash into art.
Next month, illustrator and comic book artist Violet Kitchen talks about the role of the artist in taking on big issues like climate change. She also talks about creating art with constraints as she collaborated with Solomon Goldstein-Rose for his new book, The 100% Solution – A Plan for Solving Climate Change.
If you like what you hear, you can listen to full episodes of Citizens’ Climate Radio on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, SoundCloud, Podbean, Northern Spirit Radio, Google Play, PlayerFM, and TuneIn Radio. Also, feel free to connect with other listeners, suggest program ideas, and respond to programs in the Citizens’ Climate Radio Facebook group or on Twitter at @CitizensCRadio.
(Top image: Magpie Flower Ball by the Magpie Art Collective.)
This article is part of The Art House series.
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As host of Citizens’ Climate Radio, Peterson Toscano regularly features artists who address climate change in their work. The Art House section of his program includes singer/songwriters, visual artists, comics, creative writers, and playwrights. Through a collaboration with Artists and Climate Change and Citizens’ Climate Education, each month Peterson reissues The Art House for this blog. If you have an idea for The Art House, contact Peterson: radio @ citizensclimatelobby.org
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Artists and Climate Change is a blog that tracks artistic responses from all disciplines to the problem of climate change. It is both a study about what is being done, and a resource for anyone interested in the subject. Art has the power to reframe the conversation about our environmental crisis so it is inclusive, constructive, and conducive to action. Art can, and should, shape our values and behavior so we are better equipped to face the formidable challenge in front of us.
Go to the Artists and Climate Change Blog
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