Can art and storytelling help us to emotionally face the climate reality and fight for action?
We explored this question recently on our Facebook Page, with a series in honour of our #FireTalkPSC event, where PSC leaders joined FIRE artists Jody Graham and curator Jo Lane to discuss the capacity of art to emotionally support the community, as we face the difficult climate reality.
Our Social Media Volunteer, Jessica Morthorpe, shares:
“There are two artists I often turn to these days when I need encouragement or a great way to communicate environmental challenges and hope. They are Jess Harwood and Brenna Quinlan – I encourage you to take a look at their work, both share regularly on social media and are always very topical and engaging. My husband has also been reading Ministry of the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson, and I’m fascinated by the power of cli-fi to shape us and help us envision the future.”
Share with us YOUR reflections on the #FireTalkPSC event, the links below, or your thoughts on how art and storytelling can help us face our climate emotions by messaging PSC on Facebook.
Here is our five day series:
Day #1: We start with this article about how Avatar: The Last Airbender fans have been mobilising to take action against the Line 3 pipeline: https://grist.org/…/how-avatar-the-last-airbender…/
“The nonprofit Fandom Forward embraces what it calls “the power of pop culture to make activism more accessible for everyone” — an idea dubbed “critical nerd theory” during the rally. Simply put, it means spurring young people to action by using popular stories like Avatar: The Last Airbender and Steven Universe to draw parallels to the real world and show how anyone can make a difference. “We believe in the power of story to turn fans into heroes,” says Katie Bowers, the organization’s managing director.”
Is there a book, movie or tv show that has inspired your climate activism or helped you cope with your climate emotions?
Day #2 Here are some music, art and book suggestions to help you deal with your climate anxiety: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/feb/07/a-rainforest-cries-music-art-books-and-more-to-help-you-deal-with-climate-anxiety
Day #3 Have you heard of Cli-Fi? Here’s an introduction to the genre and how it helps us to develop emotional resilience in the face of the climate crisis:
Day #4 of our art and storytelling series is about the power of photos! Check out this awesome project collecting photos that tell the story of climate change in Australia:
https://www.abc.net.au/…/climate-change-photo…/100841864
And you can still join the photo petition by submitting a photo before May! Details here: https://womenphotographersaustralia.com.au/about/
Day #5 Heather Houser reflects on some of the recurring themes of Cli-Fi and what they reveal about our thinking in the face of the climate crisis.
“Climate tics don’t produce these outcomes; they presage them by showing where climate action stands. While nothing will be solved by writing alone, climate microconventions are barometers of states of mind that speak as loudly as the more overt visions and policies on the page.”
