Creative Resilience: Socioecological Art Practices in the Climate Change Crisis

As concern over the consequences of climate change escalates, art has emerged as a powerful medium for raising awareness and inspiring action. While the latest scientific studies (IPCC 2022) emphasize the urgency of the situation, a growing number of grassroots movements, such as Fridays for Future, Extinction Rebellion, and Just Stop Oil, are mobilizing millions to confront the climate crisis. In parallel, artistic practices are playing a crucial role in promoting socioecological awareness and catalyzing societal change.

This paper will explore how ecological art aligns with the broader socio-ecological practices driven by movements and organizations working across sectors like production, consumption, and energy. Beyond merely illustrating the environmental crisis, ecological art demands a radical rethinking of artistic practice by embedding social and environmental objectives at its core. Through transdisciplinary collaborations between artists, activists, and scientists, art is contributing to a collective effort to oppose or reverse the damaging effects of climate change.

The presentation will highlight key case studies, including art projects that intersect with grassroots movements, emphasizing how these works engage with the broader public, institutions, and policymakers and provide visceral experiences of environmental degradation, emphasizing art's unique ability to foster emotional engagement and inspire action.

This analysis, connected to the Project Socioecos, will contribute to transdisciplinary perspectives, encouraging collaboration between artists, NGOs, scientists, and activists to address the climate emergency through artistic creation and collective mobilization. Finally, this discussion highlights the importance of the role of art in socioecological practices to address the climate crisis.