Can art save the world from environmental catastrophe?

Discover the role art can play in tackling the climate emergency
  • Video
  • Discussion
  • Key Stage 3
  • Key Stage 4
  • Key Stage 5
  • Painting
  • Sculpture
  • Photography
  • Environment
  • Community
  • Futures
  • Watch the video

    Content warning:

    This video explores ideas of death and contains images of burial that may be difficult for some viewers.

    About the video

    Encourage your students to respond to the video in their own ways – perhaps by making notes, doodles or drawings, or through gestures and sounds.

    This video asks the question, ‘Can art save the world from environmental catastrophe?

    "Art can help us understand... and inspire us to take action"

    It shares artworks by L.S. Lowry, Simryn Gill, Abbas Akhavan, Otobong Nkanga and Nicolás García Uriburu, to explore how these artists raise issues connected to the environment and inspire us to take action.

    Discuss

    Your students' ideas and experiences are the best starting point for any discussion. Using the prompts below, support meaningful and creative discussions in the classroom about the video’s key themes. Discover how the artists in this video can inspire your students to learn with art.

    The Impact of Climate Change

    Artists often make work about ongoing changes in society and the wider world. The artists that have been brought together in this video are all making work that explore the impact of rapid climate change on their environments and communities. Climate change is affecting us all in our everyday lives; however, the effects are felt differently across the world, with Indigenous communities in the Global South often facing the worst impacts.

    Prompts

    • In the video, Otobong Nkanga’s work draws attention to how we all share responsibility, no matter where we live in the world. What do you understand about climate change? How is it affecting us in our everyday lives?
    • Is there anything you’ve noticed in your local environment that might be explained by climate change? Think about how Simryn Gill photographed the rubbish that had accumulated in the mangrove forests where she lives.
    • How do the artworks in this video tell us something important about this big issue?

    Connections and Associations

    In this video, artists are described as ‘pointing to’ something, or ‘showing’ something, rather than ‘telling’ something. For example, artist Abbas Akhavan’s artwork Study for a Monument 2022 could remind you of botanical drawings, objects in a street market or bodies laid out for burial. By having multiple possible meanings, the artwork prompts us to make different associations and connections with what we can see.

    Prompts

    • Think of an artwork from the video. How does it show us something about issues in the environment? For example, you could think about the way L.S. Lowry paints the pollution from the factories into his scenes.
    • What can we learn about the everyday impact of climate change from the way these artists show us their environments?
    • Think about a big issue that is important to you. What would you show someone from your own life that could capture this issue in an interesting way?

    Direct Action in Art

    In the video, artist Nicolás García Uriburu is shown taking direct action through his artwork Coloration of the Grand Canal, Venice 1968 to highlight water pollution.

    Prompts

    • What do you think counts as direct action? Why might someone take direct action to share something important with the world?
    • How does García Uriburu’s artwork make you feel? What are the pros and cons of making an artwork like this?
    • How do artworks like this support us to take action in our everyday lives?

    How to use Artist Stories

    Introduce art and artists into your classroom with Artist Stories resources. The resources combine engaging videos and thoughtful discussion points to encourage confidence, self-expression and critical thinking. Art is a powerful tool for discussing the big ideas that impact young people's lives today.

    1. Explore the video:
    • Read About the video to introduce the artists to your students.
    • Project the video or watch it in smaller groups.
    • Each video is between 3–10 minutes.
    • Transcripts are included where available.

    2. Discuss the video:

    • Invite your students to respond to a discussion prompt individually. They could record their responses through writing, drawing, making or voice recording. (5 minutes)
    • Invite your students to share their ideas and responses with someone else. What have they learned about themselves or others by sharing their responses? (5 minutes)
    • Invite your class to share their thoughts and ideas in groups or as a whole class, inviting multiple perspectives and experiences. (10 minutes)

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