The Climate Art Collection (CAC) is a non-profit organization that aims to visualize climate change. They do this by curating and collecting artworks that address the topic. After doing so, the organization will also then share these artworks with curators, galleries, museums, and other relevant art institutions in order to ensure that they are shown to the wider public. By doing this, they will cultivate a climate consciousness in the global public’s mind, reminding people of the ongoing climate crisis and the importance of making small yet meaningful everyday contributions to the fight for the planet. This is why the work that the Climate Art Collection (CAC) does is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Climate Action.
One of the pieces in their collection is How Can I Dance While the Earth is Burning by Brazil-based artist Marcella França. The video art piece uses the 2020 NASA wildfire satellite map from the Amazon rainforest to chart and visualize its correlation with the melting of polar ice caps. In the film, a small globe made of ice melts in the artist’s hand “to give visibility to the poetic but ominous relationship between fire and water in climate phenomena related to global warming,” said the artist. By showing the connection between fire and ice, the piece calls for balance, by using these two elements as a causal metaphor for the relationship between human consumption activity and climate change.
Another piece in the collection is The Bucolic Labyrinth by Paz de la Calzada. As the title suggests, this piece is inspired by Bucolic Art, a subject matter in visual arts that depicts idyllic life in the countryside. The piece itself is an installation art piece where fake grass made out of plastic has been used to create a winding labyrinth that visitors are invited to traverse on. The piece’s winding path invites audiences to slow down, meditate on their surroundings, and reflect on their inner mental and emotional state. However, the artist’s intentional use of synthetic grass is meant to break this otherwise serene experience. The goal is to show that there can be no human-made replacement to the calming effect that walking in a natural field of grass brings.
According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2023 has been the warmest recorded year since global climate records began in 1850. That year, global temperatures averaged at almost over 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit over the 20th Century average. As it stands, NOAA predicts that this number will only continue to rise as the years progress, making the planet and more inhospitable for humanity. This is precisely why the global advocacy efforts by Climate Art Collection (CAC) is imperative today.
The CAC plays a crucial role in bridging the gap between art, the public, and climate action. Visual art pieces in their collection helps transform abstract data into compelling storytelling devices that can easily and quickly resonate with the general public. By curating and promoting artworks that visualize climate change, CAC inspires individual and collective action against the pervasive global issue. CAC exhibitions and projects make sure that the message of climate advocacy is heard loud and clear.
Find out more about the Climate Art Collection (CAC) and their initiatives by following their Instagram @climateartcollection or visiting their website on www.climateartcollection.com.