Climate Change

Music offers a breakthrough for communicating on climate change

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This post comes to you from Culture|Futures

In several ways, music dominated discussions at ‘Development and Climate Days’ in Warsaw, Poland, reported Climate & Development Knowledge Network.

cdkn-scrndmp_nov2013

The ‘Development and Climate Days’, held on 16–17 November 2013 at Polonia Palace Hotel during the UNFCCC climate talks, COP 19, saw participants singing songs, improvising collective rhythms, and playing games with dice and cards. These unconventional activities were conceived as a way jump-start creative thinking on climate communications.

The participants shared experience on grassroots communications strategies that have changed communities’ behaviours and have led to new decisions on climate compatible development and disaster risk reduction, and it turned out that many of these positive experiences involved music and performance arts.

Another role for music which was discussed at the Climate Days was the possibility of musical improvisation to stimulate creative thinking in disaster situations.

The ‘Development and Climate Days’ drew more than 60 participants from relief and disaster risk reduction agencies, and climate and development organisations, working from the global to the community level, from countries as diverse as Uganda, Kenya, Nepal the Philippines, Germany and Poland.

More information:

» http://www.climatecentre.org/site/development-and-climate-days

» Article by Mairi Dupar, CDKN’s Global Public Affairs Coordinator:http://cdkn.org/2013/11/music-offers-a-breakthrough-for-communicating-on-climate-change

Canberra, Australia, on 1 December 2013

Canberra, Australia, on 1 December 2013

In Belgium, the campaign ‘Sing for the Climate’ proved, according to the organisers, “that a mass mobilisation around climate change is still possible even after the COP15 in Copenhagen.”

Belgium now appeals to local groups and organisations worldwide to organise their own version of ‘Sing for the Climate’. More information, tools and support for local action can be found on singfortheclimate.com

More about music and climate change

» Climatesafety.info: Concerned musicians communicate climate problems

Culture|Futures is an international collaboration of organizations and individuals who are concerned with shaping and delivering a proactive cultural agenda to support the necessary transition towards an Ecological Age by 2050.

The Cultural sector that we refer to is an interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, inter-genre collaboration, which encompasses policy-making, intercultural dialogue/cultural relations, creative cities/cultural planning, creative industries and research and development. It is those decision-makers and practitioners who can reach people in a direct way, through diverse messages and mediums.

Affecting the thinking and behaviour of people and communities is about the dissemination of stories which will profoundly impact cultural values, beliefs and thereby actions. The stories can open people’s eyes to a way of thinking that has not been considered before, challenge a preconceived notion of the past, or a vision of the future that had not been envisioned as possible. As a sector which is viewed as imbued with creativity and cultural values, rather than purely financial motivations, the cultural sector’s stories maintain the trust of people and society.
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Climate Models — Not the Computer Kinds, the Flesh Kinds

Artists and Climate Change, , ,

This post comes from Chantal Bilodeau’s Artists and Climate Change Blog

Allegra LeGrande. Photo: Charlie Naebeck / Climate ModelsAllegra LeGrande. Photo: Charlie Naebeck / Climate Models

Can climate scientists be sexy? Francesco Fiondella, Communications Officer at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society, and Rebecca Fowler, Science Writer at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, think so. Fiondella and Fowler are working on a 2014 wall calendar, affectionately called the Climate Models Calendar, that will feature 13 climate scientists–but here’s the kicker–dressed in high-fashion gear. Produced in collaboration with photographers Charlie Naebeck and Jordan Matter, creator of the New York Times bestseller Dancers Among Us, the calendar’s goal is to “humanize science and increase understanding of current climate research.” Says Fowler: “Photos in the calendar shatter stereotypes of scientists and show that they’re a diverse group of people doing important research to understand how our planet works. From studies of drought in the sub-Saharan Africa to reconstructions of Southeast Asia’s climate history using data obtained from tree rings, the information in the calendar covers a broad range of current climate science and describes what scientists are discovering about Earth’s past, present and future climate.”

Fiondella and Fowler just completed a successful crowd funding campaign to cover the calendar’s printing costs. Climate Models is also supported by the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and Awesome NYC.

Several articles have been written about the project. Check out EarthFix, the Smithsonian Magazine, and Climate Central.

Artists and Climate Change is a blog by playwright Chantal Bilodeau 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 Chantal Bilodeau’s Artists and Climate Change Blog

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What does culture have to do with climate change? Everything

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This post comes to you from Culture|Futures

Introduction to ‘Carbon 14: Climate is Culture’ by Claire Sykes, Curator and Programming Director, Cape Farewell Foundation

carbon14_climate-is-culture

The scientific evidence tells us that the global climate system is changing at an unprecedented rate and in increasingly destructive, self-accelerating ways. But this alarming information alone can be bewildering without narratives and expressions that connect it to our lives and our communities, to our fears and our aspirations. Creating those connections is the work of culture.

A cultural response to the problem of climate change harnesses the powers of creative insight, human emotions, and understanding to effect change. Collaborating with scientists and confronting the facts around global climate change, the artists participating in Carbon 14: Climate is Culture are all responding to different aspects of this climate challenge in poignant, nuanced, subversive, often humorous, and always passionately human ways.

“We need to embrace change and unleash the power of our creativity, ingenuity, innovation, and ability to cooperate — in short, to demonstrate our humanity.”
Claire Sykes

carbon14-exhibitionroom

The exhibition features 13 art installations, including seven new commissions. Subjects include explorations of a changing Arctic; the health of the oceans; biodiversity and extinction; sustainability and new, clean technologies. Central are questions of politics, economics, and ethics.

Climate change is a difficult subject, open to misrepresentation, denial and confusion, yet it cannot be ignored. Nor can we talk about it in isolation as a purely scientific matter. While climate change presents as an environmental problem, it is — as this exhibition insists — fundamentally a cultural one.

Meaningful change must happen first at the level of culture — how we choose to live, and what we choose to do. The questions raised by the climate crisis are about innovation, economics, politics, and essentially, ethics—our responsibility to future generations and the common good—and these are all questions of culture.

carbon14-inuit

A Cultural Shift
What we do now matters on a scale that previous generations could never imagine and will affect future generations in ways we are only beginning to understand. Mitigating climate change will require both the development and delivery of clean and renewable energy sources, and changes in our behaviours and patterns of consumption to reduce our dependence upon fossil fuels.

We need to embrace change and unleash the power of our creativity, ingenuity, innovation, and ability to cooperate — in short, to demonstrate our humanity. We have a unique opportunity to make all the difference. The time is now and together we can.

Claire Sykes
capefarewellfoundation.com

carbon14-evaholtby

The above text was republished from capefarewellfoundation.com with permission from the author.

More information about ‘Carbon 14: Climate is Culture’

‘Carbon 14: Climate is Culture’ was produced by Cape Farewell Foundation in partnership with ROM: Contemporary Culture. It is the inaugural programming coming out of the North American office of Cape Farewell – the Cape Farewell Foundation – which is based in Toronto.

Carbon 14 is a two-year project that began with an intensive workshop on the shores of Lake Ontario in the fall of 2011 and continues with a wide range of programming activities, culminating in this exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum’s (ROM) Centre for Contemporary Culture, a performing arts festival with The Theatre Centre (Toronto), and a rich series of public programs and events.

» ‘Carbon 14: Climate is Culture’ media coverage:
capefarewellfoundation.com/carbon14/press

» ‘Carbon 14: Climate is Culture’ website: capefarewellfoundation.com/carbon14
» North America: capefarewellfoundation.com
» UK: capefarewell.com

Culture|Futures article – October 2013:
Canada: ‘Carbon 14: Climate is Culture’ exhibition

Culture|Futures is an international collaboration of organizations and individuals who are concerned with shaping and delivering a proactive cultural agenda to support the necessary transition towards an Ecological Age by 2050.

The Cultural sector that we refer to is an interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, inter-genre collaboration, which encompasses policy-making, intercultural dialogue/cultural relations, creative cities/cultural planning, creative industries and research and development. It is those decision-makers and practitioners who can reach people in a direct way, through diverse messages and mediums.

Affecting the thinking and behaviour of people and communities is about the dissemination of stories which will profoundly impact cultural values, beliefs and thereby actions. The stories can open people’s eyes to a way of thinking that has not been considered before, challenge a preconceived notion of the past, or a vision of the future that had not been envisioned as possible. As a sector which is viewed as imbued with creativity and cultural values, rather than purely financial motivations, the cultural sector’s stories maintain the trust of people and society.
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Inaugural CLIMARTE Forum

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ClimarteWebHeadCrop2b0a08
The Inaugural CLIMARTE Public Forum
Art Climate Ethics: What role for the arts?
6.00 – 7.30pm Saturday 15 February, 2014

We are pleased to present Art Climate Ethics: What role for the arts?
at Deakin Edge, Federation Square, Melbourne, as part of the Sustainable Living Festival.

Art Climate Ethics will consider the role of the arts in this time of environmental challenge.  What ethical responsibility does the arts have to engage with these challenging issues? What is the important role the arts can play in understanding and deepening our engagement with the challenge of climate change? Hear what leading thinkers in art, science and philosophy have to say.

Can you help us make this happen?

We know you are passionate about role of the arts in addressing climate change – so we need your help to raise the last $5,000 we need to make CLIMARTE’s first Public Forum an event that can’t be ignored!  This forum will attract over 500 people and will form a launch pad for CLIMARTE’s ongoing calendar of events. Your support, at any level, will make a significant contribution and ensure that Art Climate Ethics can have maximum impact:
$25 will help towards artists’ travel;
$50 will help towards speakers’ fees;
$250 will help towards artists’ accommodation;
$1,000 help us film the forum so we can broadcast it later;
But any amount will be most welcome!

Walkley award winning Journalist Rafael Epstein will moderate the panel of speakers including Philosopher Damon Young from the University of Melbourne, leading Australian Artists, Fiona Hall AO and Mandy Martin, and Scientist Professor Steven Chown from Monash University.Thanks to the Australia Cultural Fund and Creative Partnership Australia your donation is fully tax deductible and you can make it online right here!

Thank you for your support.

CLIMARTE’s address is:
PO Box 2429 Richmond South
Victoria 3121 AUSTRALIACopyright © 2013 CLIMARTE INC., All rights reserved.

CLIMARTE is a Registered Trademark.

Via Inaugural CLIMARTE Forum.

GhostFood: Forever Lost to Climate Change

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ghostfood10

GhostFood was an event held in the middle of October 2013. It was outside the Robert Rauschenberg Project Space, 455 West 19th Street New York, NY

Gallery Aferro presented GhostFood, a participatory performance by Miriam Simun and Miriam Songster that explored eating in a future of food scarcity and biodiversity loss brought on by climate change. GhostFood is a food truck that serves, via wearable device, simulated taste experiences of foods threatened with extinction due to the effects of climate change. Scents of threatened foods were paired with climate change-resilient food stuffs, and exchanged for ideas with the public.

Miriam Simun is a research-based artist investigating the implications of socio-technical and environmental change. She has exhibited and lectured widely, and is a 2013 Creative Capital Grantee in the Emerging Fields for her project EAT YOUR FUTURE. Miriam Songster applies her background in sculpture, video and installation to the creation of scent-based immersive works that engage with the themes of minimalism, site-specificity, and the multi-faceted nature of sensory perception.

websites:

http://www.songster.net

http://www.miriamsimun.com

via Marfa Dialogues 2013 / New York | Gallery Aferro.

Thailand: Conference on climate change and cultural heritage

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This post comes to you from Culture|Futures

Thailand: Conference on climate change and cultural heritage

The International Conference on Cultural Heritage and Disaster Risk Reduction, held in Thailand on 18-20 November 2013 addressed the issues of climate change and the threat it poses to cultural heritage.

int-conf-thailand

“While it is acknowledged that climate change is a major issue that impacts negatively on the environment and has subsequent consequences in relation to increased flooding, drought, rising temperatures, energy supplies, food supplies, social structures including migration, lack of resources leading to increased conflict, poverty, and other social ills; rarely is the impact of climate change on cultural heritage – both tangible and intangible – addressed. This conference aims to make explicit the link between climate change and the threat it poses to cultural heritage and to highlight the importance of adopting disaster risk reduction strategies.”

International Conference on Cultural Heritage and Disaster Risk Reduction
Venue: Windsor Suites Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand
Date: November 18, 2013 – November 20, 2013
Website: seameo-spafa.org

Read more:
asemus.museum

Culture|Futures is an international collaboration of organizations and individuals who are concerned with shaping and delivering a proactive cultural agenda to support the necessary transition towards an Ecological Age by 2050.

The Cultural sector that we refer to is an interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, inter-genre collaboration, which encompasses policy-making, intercultural dialogue/cultural relations, creative cities/cultural planning, creative industries and research and development. It is those decision-makers and practitioners who can reach people in a direct way, through diverse messages and mediums.

Affecting the thinking and behaviour of people and communities is about the dissemination of stories which will profoundly impact cultural values, beliefs and thereby actions. The stories can open people’s eyes to a way of thinking that has not been considered before, challenge a preconceived notion of the past, or a vision of the future that had not been envisioned as possible. As a sector which is viewed as imbued with creativity and cultural values, rather than purely financial motivations, the cultural sector’s stories maintain the trust of people and society.
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Australian seminar: ‘Galleries, museums and climate change’

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This post comes to you from Culture|Futures

Australian seminar: ‘Galleries, museums and climate change’

The title ‘Galleries, Museums & Climate Change’ pretty well indicates the agenda for what the participants of a one-day seminar held at the University of Queensland Art Museum in Australia discussed and shared knowledge about on 13 November 2013: a cocktail of energy efficiency, sustainability, climate change – and culture.

seminar-in-queensland20131

“The seminar looks at new approaches to environmental collection management protocols, lighting and sustainability. It also looks at ways in which our sector can educate and engage our audiences in issues of environmental sustainability and energy efficiency,” explained Executive Director of Museum & Gallery Services Queensland, Rebekah Butler.

Museum & Gallery Services Queensland – the peak professional body for the public museum and gallery sector in the Australian state Queensland – has organised the seminar in partnership with the University of Queensland Art Museum and the UQ Museum Studies.

Judith Nesbitt from Tate in United Kingdom led the discussion, speaking on the innovative work of this international cultural institution to reduce its carbon emissions and embed environmental sustainability across all areas of the organisation’s policy and practice. This includes building and exhibition design, through to the Tate’s catering and retail outlets.

Environmental sustainability at Tate

Judith Nesbitt is Head of National and International Partnerships at Tate in United Kingdom, and she leads Tate’s Sustainability Task Force with the aim of reducing the organisation’s carbon emissions and embedding environmental sustainability in policy and practice.

At the seminar, Judith Nesbitt gave a keynote speech on Environmental Sustainability at the Tate, and in the publicity material for the seminar, she gave a description of Tate’s efforts to reduce its environmental impact. She writes:

“For over five years, Tate has made a concerted effort to reduce its environmental impact and worked with colleagues in the museum sector to address the challenges specific to the sector.”

“This initiative has brought changes to how it cares for, presents and transports its collection, the operations across its varied estate, the design and engineering of its new buildings. Some of these changes are incremental; other changes require a greater shift, whether in practice or attitude. Staff, audiences, and artists all have a part to play in how we develop imaginative solutions to the environmental challenges of the 21st century.

Like many galleries, Tate has achieved reductions in the energy demand of heating and cooling its buildings, and taken the opportunity presented by capital projects, such as expansion of Tate Modern, to achieve energy efficient design through passive measures, maximising natural lighting and developing the use of LEDs.

All aspects of gallery practice are systematically examined, from re-usable wall systems for exhibitions, waste to heat contracts, to sustainable catering and trading. Aiming to embed sustainable practices across the organisation, Tate’s environmental strategy is championed by Green Reps, overseen by the Sustainability Task Force, regularly assessed by Trustees and detailed in its annual report.

The effort is not just an organisational one, since many of the most far-reaching changes require sector-wide agreement between lending institutions. Many international colleagues have indicated their readiness to adopt a smarter approach to running galleries and museums in the long-term public interest. Sharing experience and data is the first step towards well-founded changes of practice, which is why this seminar is a welcome opportunity.”

Source: magsq.com.au

No international agreement on parameters

How to reduce energy consumption without compromising the preservation of collections is an important and unresolved question with no consensus among museums which aim to manage the environmental parameters in the face of climate change.

“Relaxed environmental conditions for museums to reduce energy consumption, whilst not compromising the preservation of collections, have been on the table for consideration by the conservation community for at least the last five years. It is acknowledged that existing parameters are based on a blanket approach, and are unnecessarily tight for all but the most vulnerable of artworks.

Major museums and galleries worldwide are recognising this and implementing relaxed parameters, such as the Tate, the Smithsonian and the V&A.

Two years ago it looked as though international agreement was close. However a significant proportion of the conservation profession are not convinced that the risks in relaxing these parameters can be safely managed. Accordingly consensus amongst conservators internationally is not going to be achieved and therefore there will be no new blanket environmental standards.”

Curating Cities

Public art and sustainability in urban environments
Dr Laura Fisher from the National Institute for Experimental Arts spoke on the Linkage project Curating Cities. Led by researchers at the National Institute for Experimental Arts (COFA) in partnership with the City of Sydney, Carbon Arts, Object, and the University of Cincinnati, Curating Cities examines how the arts can generate environmentally beneficial behavior change and influence the development of green infrastructure in urban environments.

Over the last year Laura Fisher has been involved in building the Curating Cities database of eco-sustainable public art, which is a resource for researchers, artists, commissioning agencies, government bodies and members of the public who are interested in how public art can generate beneficial social change with respect to environmental sustainability.

“Curating Cities rests on the conviction that public art can very effectively serve the sustainability agenda if it is integrated into the processes of reshaping urban infrastructure and managing the efficient use of resources in cities. This presentation will explain the aspirations that underpin Curating Cities, and discuss several exemplary public art projects that have been documented on the Curating Cities database of eco-sustainable art.

It will also discuss the database’s purpose as an informative and evaluative resource that documents the mix of aesthetic, civic and environmental concerns that each work seeks to address, and provides useful insights into the funding arrangements, multi-party negotiations and problem-solving processes that bring public art projects to fruition.”

curatingcities.org

Contemporary art meets the environment: Artists Janet Laurence and Caroline Rothwell discussed their work on display in the UQ Art Museum. The artists talked about how they make visible the interconnections between nature and culture, and elaborate the devastating impact of human action on the environment.

Emrah Baki Ulas, lighting designer, educator and researcher, Associate at Steensen-Varming and co-author of ‘The Technical Industry Report on Museum and Gallery Lighting and Air Conditioning’ spoke on future options for economically and environmentally sustainable methods of display environments, preservation and storage of art and cultural material.

Showcase: As an environmental sustainable showcase the seminar took the participants on a tour of University of Queensland’s Global Change Institute building.

» Media release about the seminar: MRGalleriesMuseums Climate.pdf

Our Carbon Footprint

In August 2011, M&GSQ held a state conference which had a plenary entitled ‘Our Carbon Footprint’.

Slideshows and videos of presentations from this plenary session, such as Guy Abrahams’ CLIMARTE presentation ‘Climate Change, Sustainability and the Arts’ (video | powerpoint-document) are available online.
» Learn more on magsq.com.au

Culture|Futures is an international collaboration of organizations and individuals who are concerned with shaping and delivering a proactive cultural agenda to support the necessary transition towards an Ecological Age by 2050.

The Cultural sector that we refer to is an interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, inter-genre collaboration, which encompasses policy-making, intercultural dialogue/cultural relations, creative cities/cultural planning, creative industries and research and development. It is those decision-makers and practitioners who can reach people in a direct way, through diverse messages and mediums.

Affecting the thinking and behaviour of people and communities is about the dissemination of stories which will profoundly impact cultural values, beliefs and thereby actions. The stories can open people’s eyes to a way of thinking that has not been considered before, challenge a preconceived notion of the past, or a vision of the future that had not been envisioned as possible. As a sector which is viewed as imbued with creativity and cultural values, rather than purely financial motivations, the cultural sector’s stories maintain the trust of people and society.
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Water Water Everywhere / Nay Any Drop to Drink

Artists and Climate Change, ,

This post comes from Chantal Bilodeau’s Artists and Climate Change Blog

Nora York at Joe's Pub

In Water Water Everywhere / Nay Any Drop To Drink Nora York frames Handel’s Water Music suites with her own original compositions to confront the topic of climate change as it affects water—the oceans, rivers, aquifers, lakes, streams, wells, and our bodies and minds. It is both a love letter and a wake-up call about what is at stake within our current climate chaos. The work asks the audience to consider the essential value of water.

In preparation for Water Water Everywhere / Nay Any Drop To Drink, York engaged in conversations with scientists and activists in the fields of climate change and water. By “distilling the facts” she  identified the dominant images, metaphors, and concepts for her songs. York is also curating visual images for projections during portions of the live performance to create a complimentary metaphoric visual landscape to accompany the music. The visual artists committed to contributing images are Kiki Smith, Kate Teale, Judith Belzer, and Jerry Kearns.

Joining York will be an ensemble of both contemporary and classical musician. Her long time collaborator and co-composer Jamie Lawrence, piano; will be joined by luminaries from the classical and jazz world including Charles McCraken, bassoon; Diane Lesser, oboe; Robin Zeh, Violin: Dave Hofstra, bass; Steve Tarshis, guitar; Peter Grant, drums.

After the concert performance, the audience was encouraged to engage with each other and environmental scientists and activists in an informal conversation in the lobby at The Public Theater and The Library Café on the mezzanine level.

Nora York photo

Joe’s Pub is one of more than 30 institutions participating in Marfa Dialogues/NY. The two-month calendar of events features a mix of environmental panels, live theatre, major art exhibitions, installations, community forums, musical performances and more – all accessible to the public and available via broadcast and digital media.

ABOUT NORA YORK: Nora York has performed and written her own music for theater, film, television, concert and cabaret. She has four CDs in release, been awarded a Robert Rauschenberg Foundation grant, two New York State Council on the Arts composers commissions and her work has been commissioned by The Public Theater in New York and The Brooklyn Academy of Music. She has performed at concert venues, universities and festivals in the U.S., Mexico, Canada and Europe. (Ted, Newport Jazz Festival, Ottawa Jazz Festival, JVC Jazz festival, Lincoln Center, and Merkin Hall and Lincoln Center Out of Doors.) She has been teaching at New York University since 1997.

ABOUT MARFA DIALOGUE NY: Marfa Dialogues/NY is an examination of climate change science, environmental activism and artistic practice taking place this October and November 2013 in New York City. A collaboration between the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Ballroom Marfa and the Public Concern Foundation, Marfa Dialogues/NY will feature more than 20 Program Partners and a spectrum of exhibitions, performance, and interdisciplinary discussions at the intersection of the arts and climate change. Marfa Dialogues was co-founded in 2010 by Ballroom Marfa, a leading contemporary arts center in Far West Texas, and The Public Concern Foundation (PCF), a New York non-profit devoted to the advancement of public education around social and political topics. Marfa Dialogues was originally conceived as a symposium to broaden public exploration of the intersection of art, politics and culture.

Filed under: Music

Artists and Climate Change is a blog by playwright Chantal Bilodeau 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 Chantal Bilodeau’s Artists and Climate Change Blog

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Australia: Climate change shapes new art

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This post comes to you from Culture|Futures

“Concerns around climate change are shaping new Australian art,” writes Andrew Frost in the British paper The Guardian in a review of an Australian exhibition by Shoufay Derz. Here is description of three different climate change-related exhibitions that were on display in Australia.

ShoufayDerz1

‘Black Lake_2012’ by Shoufay Derz – pigment print on cotton paper. 107 x 100 cm

The “pervasive sense of doom has in part prompted a revival in contemporary art of the core themes of western art: the landscape, nature and human survival. A show by Sydney artist Shoufay Derz at Artereal gallery combines classical symbols of nature’s power such as the mountain peak and endless sky, with a minimalist aesthetic drawn from Buddhism and contemporary art,” Andrew Frost wrote.

Shoufay Derz is a Sydney-based artist of German and Taiwanese heritage “who sets out to conjure the ineffable. To portray that experience, emotion or phenomenon that is understood but not necessarily present; that state, that enigma, which resides at just beneath the threshold of perception or beyond vision,” explains a text in the exhibition catalogue.

The exhibition by Shoufay Derz ran in Sydney, Australia, until 13 November 2013.

» Gallery home page: artereal.com.au

» Open or download Catalogue (PDF)

» Shoufay Derz’s home page: shoufay.com

The Guardian – 7 November 2013:
Concerns around climate change are shaping new Australian art
Artists are once more looking to landscape, nature and human survival, as Shoufay Derz’s new exhibition in Sydney shows. Article by Andrew Frost

ShoufayDerz2-theguardian

JoshWodak_exhib

shape Things To come

Josh Wodak’s latest exhibition is an installation that physically maps where future sea shores would be in Newcastle according to different climate trajectories produced through engineering the world’s climate through bioengineering and geoengineering.

Dr Josh Wodak is an interdisciplinary artist and researcher whose participatory projects and interactive installations explore ecological sustainability and climate change. Formally trained in Visual Anthropology (University of Sydney) and Interdisciplinary Cross-Cultural Research (Australian National University), his work has been presented as performances, screenings, installations and exhibitions in art galleries, museums, theatres, performative spaces, cinemas, and festivals across Australia.

Josh Wodak writes on his website, www.arch-angle.net:

“Models of climate change trajectories show the shape of things to come for the biosphere and its inhabitants this century. Scientific organisations worldwide overwhelmingly maintain that the window to avoid runaway catastrophic climate change is closing fast: being one decade… at most. In turn, highly reputed climate scientists and scientific organisations are now proposing radical ways to engineer the world’s climate through bioengineering and geoengineering.

‘shape Things To come’ explores this reversal of agency: from being shaped by things to come, to how humans may shape things to come through climate engineering interventions designed to separate existing lifeforms from six degrees of catastrophe.”

‘shape Things To come’ runs at The Lock-Up Culture Centre in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia from 22 November 2013 at 5.30pm to 8 December 2013.

claudia-terstappen_exhib

In the shadow of change

On 9 November 2013, Monash Gallery of Art in Melbourne opened ‘In the shadow of change’ – Claudia Terstappen’s exhibition of large scale landscape photographs and places undergoing significant change. Revealing places of spiritual resonance, the artist’s photographs can also be seen in a new book by the same title.

The exhibition was opened by Bob Brown, former leader of Australian Greens party.

‘In the shadow of change’ runs to 26 January 2014 at the Monash Gallery of Art, mga.org.au

Culture|Futures is an international collaboration of organizations and individuals who are concerned with shaping and delivering a proactive cultural agenda to support the necessary transition towards an Ecological Age by 2050.

The Cultural sector that we refer to is an interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, inter-genre collaboration, which encompasses policy-making, intercultural dialogue/cultural relations, creative cities/cultural planning, creative industries and research and development. It is those decision-makers and practitioners who can reach people in a direct way, through diverse messages and mediums.

Affecting the thinking and behaviour of people and communities is about the dissemination of stories which will profoundly impact cultural values, beliefs and thereby actions. The stories can open people’s eyes to a way of thinking that has not been considered before, challenge a preconceived notion of the past, or a vision of the future that had not been envisioned as possible. As a sector which is viewed as imbued with creativity and cultural values, rather than purely financial motivations, the cultural sector’s stories maintain the trust of people and society.
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Canada: ‘Carbon 14: Climate is Culture’ exhibition

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This post comes to you from Culture|Futures

ROM_exhibition

Collision of science and art. On 19 October 2013, Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum, one of the largest museums in North America, opened ‘Carbon 14’ — an art exhibition and four-month programme of theatre plays, talks and seminars about climate change.

Collaborating with scientists and cultural informers in confronting the facts of global climate change, the artists participating in the ‘Carbon 14: Climate is Culture’ exhibition respond to various aspects of the climate challenge in poignant, nuanced, subversive, often humorous, and always passionately human ways.

Subjects include explorations of a changing Arctic, the health of oceans, biodiversity and extinction, sustainability and new, clean technologies; and central questions of politics, economics, and ethics.

Imaginative, experimental and eclectic in its approach, ROM Contemporary Culture explores new ideas and new technologies to raise provocative questions about the natural world, living cultures and the creative mind. This season ROM Contemporary Culture explores the issue of environment and climate change asking: how does landscape change a culture and how does culture change a landscape?

Curated by David Buckland and Claire Sykes, and produced by Cape Farewell in partnership withROM Contemporary Culture, ‘Carbon 14: Climate is Culture’ explores the growing global issue of climate change through the eyes of scientists, artists and cultural informers.

Art and science come together like never before in this engaging and provocative exhibition, two years in the making. The exhibition features 13 art installations.

» Experience the collision of science and art with the Carbon 14: Climate is Culture exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada.

 

Carbon 14: Climate is Culture Festival

October 2013 – February 2014

In addition to the Carbon 14: Climate is Culture exhibition, Cape Farewell have developed a rich series of public programs, satellite projects and events that are set to unfold throughout the four-month exhibition run.

‘Climate is Culture’ will be four months of cultural engagement visioning the challenge and the possible future, a unique and powerful narrative engagement with what is one of the most pressing issues of our time, climate change.

Highlights include:

• A performance series produced in partnership with Toronto’s The Theatre Centre, featuring the world premiere of Sea Sick – performed by Alanna Mitchell and adapted from her award-winning book; the Canadian premier of Cynthia Hopkins‘ multi-media musical performance piece This Clement World; and special musical performances. The series runs January 26 – February 9, 2014 at The Theatre Centre, Toronto.

• The Trial of David Suzuki – a powerful live theatre and public engagement project conceived and produced by Laurie Brown, in partnership with Donnelly Law. The Trial of David Suzuki will be held on November 6, 2013 at the Royal Ontario Museum. (More information below)

• Public screen-based art projects in partnership with Pattison Onestop, as part of their Art in Transit program, set to unfold on the Toronto Transit System (TTC) subway platform screens, on the Pattison Onestop network of shopping centre screens nation-wide, and on various digital billboards in the city. The first installment of art work in November 2012, featured Ship of Fools: Artist and Climate Change, with work by James Balog, Heather O’Neill, and Shad.

• Public lectures, talks and discussions, including the Carbon 14 Dialogues on topics ranging from the changing Arctic landscape, to the theme “climate is culture” developed in partnership with ROM and the Munk-Gordon Arctic Security Program.

• Satellite exhibition and related programming focused on water at THEMUSEUM in Kitchener, Ontario, featuring work by Eamon Mac Mahon in conjunction with Surface Tension: The Future of Water. This exhibition runs September 20, 2013 through January 5, 2014.

» Download your copy of the Carbon 14: Climate is Culture Festival and Exhibition Guide. (PDF)

 

Theatre: ‘The Trial of David Suzuki’

Suzuki stands accused!
Imagine a time when we might find our most trusted and respected scientists tried in a court of law for speaking out against environmental practices. We’re not there yet, but the “Trial” does take the views about climate change of one well-known and controversial scientist, and give his supporters, and those that disagree with him, equal time to challenge each others ideas about our changing environment and how the way we live impacts it.

‘The Trial of David Suzuki’ — a powerful live theatre and public engagement project conceived and produced by Laurie Brown, is presented by Cape Farewell in partnership with Donnelly Law and ROM Contemporary Culture as part of the Carbon 14: Climate is Culture exhibition.

» Click here to book tickets or for more information on ‘The Trial of David Suzuki’.

Related articles

CultureFutures – 27 August 2013:
Art about climate change: a new trend

Culture|Futures is an international collaboration of organizations and individuals who are concerned with shaping and delivering a proactive cultural agenda to support the necessary transition towards an Ecological Age by 2050.

The Cultural sector that we refer to is an interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, inter-genre collaboration, which encompasses policy-making, intercultural dialogue/cultural relations, creative cities/cultural planning, creative industries and research and development. It is those decision-makers and practitioners who can reach people in a direct way, through diverse messages and mediums.

Affecting the thinking and behaviour of people and communities is about the dissemination of stories which will profoundly impact cultural values, beliefs and thereby actions. The stories can open people’s eyes to a way of thinking that has not been considered before, challenge a preconceived notion of the past, or a vision of the future that had not been envisioned as possible. As a sector which is viewed as imbued with creativity and cultural values, rather than purely financial motivations, the cultural sector’s stories maintain the trust of people and society.
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