Creativity as an essential tool for community climate action
Creativity has an important role in effective community engagement, helping to make the climate conversation more relevant and accessible to people and their daily lives. Today we’re launching a Climate and Creativity insights report from the Community Climate Action Project, sharing how we’ve used creativity as a tool to engage a wide range of people in climate and nature action.
Creativity has the power to engage and inspire more people to take climate and nature action. Through the National Lottery funded Community Climate Action Project, we have worked with local artists to create films, poems, and theatre to break down complex topics and connect with people on an emotional level.
In this new Climate and Creativity insights report, we’re sharing how we did it, the benefits, and our learnings, along with examples and case studies, as well as ideas for ways you can bring more creativity into the climate sector.
“We see creativity as a key strategy for deeper engagement. By collaborating with artists, storytellers, and makers, we build resilience, empower more people, and ensure diverse voices shape the future of climate action. This is more than a method – it’s a movement, a way of working, and a powerful tool for change.”
Kirsty Tait, Climate Action Programme Manager, Heart of BS13
A core aim of the Community Climate Action Project is to engage a wide range of citizens with the climate conversation, but following the pandemic and at a time when many people were struggling financially, talking about the climate crisis sometimes proved challenging with many of our local communities, where simply surviving from day-to-day has had to be people’s top priority.
As a city with a thriving arts and cultural sector, Bristol often uses creativity to explore challenging topics or have difficult conversations, in ways which are accessible and resonate with people’s daily lives and lived experiences.
So collaboration with local artists and creatives has been an important part of the Community Climate Action Project, incorporating elements of communications and community engagement, at both a community and citywide level.
Through a series of large and smaller scale creative commissions, the project has been able to explore issues such as the accessibility of public transport, children and young people’s views on climate and nature and the racial and intergenerational aspects of climate justice.
From climate craftivism to film and animation, from spoken word poetry to forum theatre – creativity has enabled us to engage more, and more diverse, people with the climate conversation in a meaningful way.
“Creativity has the power to create an emotional connection with people and their everyday lives, which is an important starting point for engagement, and then (hopefully) action on climate.”
Amy Harrison, Head of Community Partnerships, Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership
The Climate and Creativity insights report is part of a series of learnings we are sharing from the National Lottery funded Community Climate Action Project over the coming months. Make sure you’re signed up to hear from us, and in the meantime check out our resource library.
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