We were delighted to see so many of you at our recent webinar Culture, Climate and the Sustainable Development Goals with Paolo Granata, in which he walked us through the #CultureForSDGs Toolkit and how to align our work with the United Nations SDGs framework. We cherish these opportunities to come together in learning; it’s one of the important ways in which we reaffirm our sense of community, one that is quickly growing. We know the arts and culture sector can and must respond to the climate emergency, and while each of us will find our own unique way to rise to this challenge, we firmly believe that building community throughout this practice will increase everyone’s collective impact. The climate and ecological crisis poses the biggest creative challenge we’ve ever faced; this is precisely why as creatives, artists, culture-makers and cultural workers, we must work together to lead cultural transformation. As it turns out, we are already responding in a myriad of ways.
In this newsletter, we’d like to give a nod to those who are at the creative forefront of climate action. Instead of opting for a long list, we’d like to invite you to discover for yourself the rich climate arts ecosystem in Canada by navigating through the Climate Art Web (CAW-WAC) – a place of exchange for artists living in northern Turtle Island (Canada) who are concerned with and committed to addressing climate issues. Since CAW-WAC first launched in 2022, the roster of artists featured in the interactive Climate Art Map has grown significantly, and so we thought it was about time to highlight this amazing resource again here in our newsletter. Feel free to sign yourself up for the map and/or submit any climate art events and opportunities that might be happening in your community! The more we can get to know each other’s work, the more effectively we will come together as a sector to effect change at scale.
And speaking of those at the creative forefront of climate action, we’d like to close by sharing this personal and powerful essay by artist and scholar Tanya Kalmanovitch, SCALE’s Mission Circle Lead. You can read her essay Seven Ways to Tell the Truth About Oil here.
Please note that going forward, we’ll be switching this newsletter’s publication to the beginning of the month. You can expect to hear from us again in early June. In the meantime, if you have any artist calls, events, or learning opportunities you’d like us to share, please let us know. As always, we’re eager to hear about your artistic inspirations. Share them here or contact us directly – our door is always open.
. You can expect to hear from us again in early June. In the meantime, if you have any artist calls, events, or learning opportunities you’d like us to share, please let us know. As always, we’re eager to hear about your artistic inspirations. Share them here or contact us directly – our door is always open.
Until next time,
Julia Matamoros
MEET A MISSION CIRCLE MEMBER
Viviane Gosselin
Viviane Gosselin (she/her/elle) is a white settler working on the unceded ancestral territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil Waututh nations. She is the Director of Collections and Exhibitions and Curator of Contemporary Culture at the Museum of Vancouver (MOV), Canada’s largest civic museum. Her work on historical and environmental literacy seeks to make the museum a more responsive, empathetic, and democratic public space, a place that prompts people to recognize their capacity to effect positive social change. Several exhibitions led or co-curated by Viviane have won awards nationally or internationally. She has authored articles on participatory museology, intercultural curation, and climate literacy in museums. Viviane’s current research applies regenerative design principles to curatorial work. She is the project lead for SAGE (Sustainability Arts and Green Ecosystem), a cross-sectoral initiative committed to reducing waste by incorporating circular models of production and consumption into the creation of exhibitions. Viviane has been the recipient or co-recipient of several SSHRC grants. She has served on the executive committees of The History Education Network (THEN/HiER) and ICOM Canada, and is currently a member of the Advisory Group for the Coalition of Museums for Climate Justice.
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The Grantham Foundation’s new call for projects – deadline May 14 The Grantham Foundation for the Arts and the Environment has officially launched its new Call for Projects for the year 2024. The Foundation is awarding a $10,000 Creation Award and a $5,000 Research Award, each including a one-month residency at the Foundation. Learn more about the Creation Award here. Learn more about the Research Award here.
Re-situating: more-than-human dialogues in Art and Science – running through May 13 Resituating: more-than-human is an interdisciplinary program bringing together academics, scientists, Indigenous thinkers, artists, and the general public to rethink ways to engage with the world of plants and other vegetal life – the vegetal more-than-human Other. The program’s activities and events extend the themes of the group exhibition “more-than-human”, currently on display at Onsite Gallery in Toronto, emphasizing their relevance beyond the arts, and fostering dialogues across disciplines and world views.
Make It Circular Challenge nominees announcedWhat Design Can Do is an international organization that seeks to accelerate the transition to a sustainable, fair and just society using the power of design. Their Make It Circular Challenge calls on designers, creative entrepreneurs and startups from around the world to envision and build a circular society. This year’s shortlist features exciting innovations that prevent waste by rethinking our way of life: from what we eat and wear, to how we build, package and buy, representing ideas from creatives in 20 different countries. Be inspired by the nominees.
Fossil fuel ads make us sick campaignFossil fuel companies continue to conceal health dangers associated with their products. Meanwhile, fossil fuel air pollution causes up to 34,000 premature deaths in Canada each year. Stop Fossil Fuel Ads is a coalition of over half a million Canadian health professionals standing together to stop fossil fuel advertising.
Out of the Box: Indigenous Collaboration: Fireside Chat with Mallory Yawnghwe – April 21Curious about cross-cultural collaborations? Don’t miss the CSPA’s upcoming Fireside Chat with Mallory Yawnghwe, Founder & CEO of Indigenous Box – a seasonal subscription box promoting Indigenous entrepreneurs. Out of the Box: Indigenous Collaboration will explore collaborative approaches for working with Indigenous artists, organizations, and communities. Non-Indigenous & Indigenous participants are welcome to attend, regardless of prior knowledge.
CBC Seeds of Change, celebrating climate action in the media industry – April 26 Curious about making your media production more environmentally sustainable? Not sure how to weave climate into your story? Join Sally Catto, General Manager of Entertainment, Factual and Sport at CBC to explore how we can accelerate environmentally sustainable change through the content we make.