Have you ever had street start art speak to you? Has art ever changed your feelings and values? We want to use public art to make people aware of sea level rise in Vancouver; these arts can also bring people together and create stronger communities.
Image from http://byhula.com/portfolio/hina/
We believe art itself sends a strong message to public. To make community engagement stronger, we suggest making citizens involve in some process of public arts:
- Participation in the design selection process by survey
- Participation in the actual art piece making process that more developed artists’ lead
People care about places when they feel a connected to them. By creating an art, the public can learn and connect to the habitat as community members.
Image from http://inhabitat.com/isaac-cordals-incredible-tiny-sculptures-offer-a-chilling-view-of-climate-change/isaac-cordal-climate-change-11/
Public art projects can collaborate with other educational and community engagement projects:
- Having educational workshop about sea level rise for deeper understanding of the topic before an art project starts
- Using public art pieces as an inducement for sea level rise educational or outreach programs.
These public art projects can be worked with the Public Art Program at the City of Vancouver, community based organizations, .
We can do public art projects for Sea Level Rise awareness with any public art genre. Below we pick up mural as an example.
-Mural-
Here is an inspirational video that shows how murals can change the community: Multi-building mural by eL Seed
City of Vancouver has already installed a Sea Level Rise related mural on the pilings of the Cambie Bridge. We could install more murals with the Sea Level Rise theme in each of the city’s 6 Sea Level Rise priority area (False Creek, Kits, Jericho Lacarno, Southland, Fraser Industrial, and Coal Harbour).
For the design process, after an art competition for local artists to create art for each priority area, citizens select murals which go into each area.
Vancouver Mural Festival, Vancouver’s first mural festival this summer in 2016, will be one of the possible community based organizations to work with.
Citizens can also participate in the drawing process that more developed mural artists’ lead. Richard Tetrault, a local artist in Vancouver, has provided workshops for youth program. The workshops can be for intergenerational.
The workshop also collaborate with outreach program and film to educate about Sea Level Rise deeper understanding of the topic.
– Performing Arts –
Climate Change Theatre Action in Vancouver happened in 2015 by Playwrights Guild of Canada. There is International Climate Change Theatre Action.