Climate Art Workshop Savannah Holt and Dyani Frye November 13 2025 at Cambridge Community Center
At the Climate Art Workshop, the presenters begin by communicating the different art styles that currently exist. Then, they went on to describe how the state of the climate can be communicated through art. They were gracious enough to show their own examples and experiences of doing their own climate art workshop. They showed that messages do not always have to be communicated through words, but sometimes art can communicate a message even better than words can. An example they described was this big fish made out of plastic water bottles that is currently situated on a beach to show the effect of plastic in the oceans. This sculpture provides a bigger impact than simply stating that plastic in oceans is bad. Afterwards, we were given the oppurtunity to create our own art through three different activities. One thing I loved about each of their activities is that even within the activities themselves, there was so much freedom to do what we wished. My favorite activity was one where we were able to use watercolor paints to create a painting of anything. In respect to it being an art climate workshop, I painted a green cloud in the air, to represent pollution, and had it spewing into the ocean, to represent the effect pollution creates on the ocean. The point that art can communicate strong messages is in my opinion very important in today's world. The climate currently is not doing great. With an increase in new technology and innovation, the impact on the climate is getting greater and greater day by day. Global warming is affecting our world right now like no other and we need to find ways to stop it. A way to communicate the message is through climate art. The phrase, "actions speak louder than words" applies to this very scenario. You could tell someone something, but it does not mean that they would believe it. Sometimes they need to see it with their own eyes. Although we cannot directly show climate change, we can try to create what it looks like. This was exemplified through the fish made out of plastic bottles, mentioned above. I think climate art is really important, especially now. Something that does concern me is the impact art, in general, truly has on today's society. Due to the rapid increase of technology, individuals are less drawn towards creative approaches and such, bringing up the questions of who would climate art really impact and how much impact could it truly make? At the end of the day, climate art can increase awareness, but can it create enough awareness for more funding to go into taking care of the climate? It is not a question of if climate art will make an impact, but more of a question of how much climate art will make an impact. Through the activities that we were able to do, I had a few conflicting points regarding the questions posed above. I felt like those that were interested in art would have felt a sense of care for the climate after seeing the art that my peers and I had created. However, are those looking at the art not already interested in climate change? Climate change art is a fairly niche topic. At least from my experience, I have not seen much climate art. Participating in this workshop was I believe the first direct experience I have had in this field. It is important to note that I choose to participate in this event because of my interest in climate change. This brings us back to my original point from above; those that are looking at climate art are already interested in it. Therefore, climate art needs to be taken a step further. How can we make sure that it reaches a wide range of individuals instead of the niche community that it currently targets? Participating in this climate art workshop was a step towards fighting against climate change. Climate art has the potential to be impactful; despite the many barriers it faces. I have hope that this in addition to other factors can help our world combat climate change.