Sheila Katumwa
MA in Arts Management Student, College of Arts and Sciences
How does one even begin to define such a lofty term like “sustainability?" Some may find it scientifically complex or a buzzword that has become increasingly political. Whether we realize it or not, sustainability affects all of us from the choices we make in our shopping and eating habits. But do you know who is often missing from the sustainability narrative? Artists. I believe creatives have the power to shape hearts and minds towards collective action and good, therefore their role is critical in defining how we approach sustainability. In terms of what sustainability means to me, I relate to the notion that if we do not spend time taking care of the planet today, then our children and animals of the wild may not have somewhere to call home after we are long gone.
Artists play an important role in lending their creativity to the sustainability narrative. Lucy Lippard, an American writer and art critic, claims, “Artists cannot change the world...alone. But when they make a concerted effort, they collaborate with life itself, working with and between other disciplines and audiences. Outside the rather narrow world of art, they can offer visual jolts and subtle nudges to conventional knowledge.” (Lippard 6).
No one brings a jolt of energy to the climate conversation quite like Jane Fonda. In 2019, the 81-year-old film icon was arrested for climate change activism. Fonda even “moved to Washington in September to galvanize urgent action for the climate crisis by staging protests at the Capitol, where, wrapped in a bright red coat, she was arrested on several occasions” (Buckley). In 2022, she also founded the Jane Fonda Climate PAC, and she actively encourages people to “Take Action” and “Raise a Ruckus!" on her website, Fire Drill Fridays. Fonda says, “The climate crisis requires collective action on a scale that humanity has never accomplished. The cure for despair is action.”
Nicolas Bourriaud, French curator and art critic, proposes in his groundbreaking book, Relational Aesthetics, that “art should be judged aesthetically on how well it promotes interaction and dialogue, not just its content or individual meaning” (Truitt). He argues, “The role of artworks is no longer to form imaginary and utopian realities, but to actually be ways of living and models of action within the existing real,” (Bourriaud 13). Therefore, the interactive power between art and real life does not only inspire the creative process but can influence the audience to reimagine what is possible, which is especially valuable when envisioning a more sustainable world for all. This falls in line with the efforts of Jane Fonda and the aforementioned artists. It is no surprise therefore that, “sustainability is becoming a powerful muse for artists around the world, igniting their creativity and inspiring them to use their talents to raise awareness about critical environmental issues,” according to Ki Culture, a non-profit working to unite culture and sustainability.
Art is so powerful in advancing awareness of sustainability matters that there is even a United Nations (UN) observance day, World Creativity and Innovation Day, dedicated to celebrating the role of creativity in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals."
Sheila Katumwa
MA in Arts Management Student, College of Arts and Sciences
This observance day is positioned to spur creative multidisciplinary thinking to help achieve a more sustainable future. To mark this past year’s event, sustainability expert Lukas Guttierez describes how art can cause behavioral change, especially among youth, in his article on The Intersection of Art, Creativity, and Sustainability. He says, “Sustainability requires creativity and out-of-the-box thinking to develop new, more efficient ways to use resources and reduce waste" (Guttierez).
Creative, multidisciplinary, out-of-the-box thinking for the achievement of sustainability goals can be seen embodied in the urban and architectural research projects of prominent Architect Teddy Cruz at the Tijuana-San Diego border. Exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art New York, The Cross-Border Community Station at Casa Familiar: Living Rooms at the Border, is a mixed-use housing development that provides affordable living for border communities and employs recycling tactics in construction (Cruz). Cruz says, “A more functional relationship between art and the every day is urgently needed, through which artists can act as interlocutors...intervening in the debate itself and mediating new forms of acting and living” (Thompson 58).
Artists intervene in the climate debate outside the Capitol in Washington, DC; they mediate for the environment in song; meanwhile others fight to end homelessness at the border—artists are proving the role of art beyond what is imaginary or utopian."
Sheila Katumwa
MA in Arts Management Student, College of Arts and Sciences
They show us that art has the capacity to bring us together, to listen and to see, making actionable sense of the word “sustainability” and provoking us to catalyze the future that we want for our children and future generations.
Citations
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Bennett, Paige. “10 Musicians That Are Embracing Sustainability.” EcoWatch, 3 Feb. 2023, www.ecowatch.com/musicians-embracing-sustainability.html.
Bourriaud, Nicolas. Relational Aesthetics. Les Presses Du Réel, 2020.
Buckley, Cara. “Jane Fonda at 81, Proudly Protesting and Going to Jail.” The New York Times, 3 Nov. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/11/03/arts/television/04jane-fonda-arrest-protest.html.
Cerasoli, Eleonora. “What Does Sustainability Mean for the Art World?” KeiSei Magazine, 6 Apr. 2022, keiseimagazine.com/what-does-sustainability-mean-for-the-art-world/.
Culture, Ki. “Sustainability as a Muse: Inspiring Eco-Artists around the World.” LinkedIn, 10 Aug. 2023, www.linkedin.com/pulse/sustainability-muse-inspiring-eco-artists-around-world-ki-culture/.
“Defining Sustainability.” School of Sustainability, 28 June 2023, schoolofsustainability.asu.edu/about/defining-sustainability/#:~:text=Sustainability%20can%20be%20summarized%20as,practices%2C%20social%20services%20and%20government%E2%80%A6.
Fonda, Jane. “Jane Fonda on The Climate Fight: ‘The Cure for Despair Is Action.’” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 23 Oct. 2021, www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/23/jane-fonda-on-the-climate-fight-cure-for-despair-action.
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Lippard, Lucy R., et al. Weather Report: Art and Climate Change: Exhibition: Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art in Collaboration with EcoArts, September 14 - December 21, 2007. Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 2007.
“Take Action with Fire Drill Fridays and Jane Fonda.” Fire Drill Fridays, 5 Sept. 2023, firedrillfridays.org/videos/take-action-with-fire-drill-fridays-and-jane-fonda/.
Teddy Cruz, visarts.ucsd.edu/people/faculty/teddy-cruz.html. Accessed 05 Dec. 2023.
Thompson, Nato. Living as Form: Socially Engaged Art from 1991-2011. The MIT Press, 2012.
Truitt, Benjamin. Bourriaud’s Relational Aesthetics | Study.Com, study.com/academy/lesson/bourriauds-relational-aesthetics.html.
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Zanchetta, Mariana. “What Is the Role of Stakeholders in Sustainability?” Tractivity, 17 Oct. 2023, www.tractivity.co.uk/blog/stakeholders-in-sustainability#:~:text=They%20can%20help%20to%20raise,term%20success%20of%20your%20strategy.