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Mariah Harrod

Professor B. Werner

ENS Seminar

7 December 2016

The Artivism Festival:

A Call for Art, Positivity, & Community in the Environmental Movement

“To be an artist is to believe in life.”-Henry Moore

Traditional activism has failed. The lasting, pervasive change sought by movers and

shakers is often undermined by others sensing those initiatives to be antagonistic toward their

own values and welfare. If the results of this past election cycle—in which each presidential

candidate garnered roughly half of the popular vote, and majorities in both legislative houses

remain fragile—serve as an indication, Americans are more polarized than ever. Even with

intersectional issues that affect all people, such as environmentalism and social justice, political

party affiliations are the most salient indicator of advocacy versus opposition. Therefore

commonly shared concerns such as climate change, pollution, and interracial contact bear

divisive labels perpetuating in-fighting and precluding progress on time sensitive problems.

Traditional activism has failed because it often prioritizes change through top-down

governmental rule-making rather than motivating public compliance. By focusing our efforts on

persuading elite politicians in battles inevitably outcompeted by wealthy corporate lobbyists,

activists have wasted energy in fruitless efforts and instigated backlash against “big government”

encroachment. Moreover, policy itself oversimplifies complex environmental problems which

endure on scales longer and larger than policy is capable of addressing (Steffen 21). Creating

concrete rules—while undeniably generating large-scale benefits in many contexts—may even

result in unprecedented environmental consequences as political leaders struggle to make sense

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of systemic issues. Additionally, these rules rarely motivate compliance, and loopholes will

always be available to those with the financial incentive and resources to use them. Restrictive

policies do not remove the temptation of amassing profit in a capitalistic economy in which

many environmental costs are not internalized for those extracting and processing. While

political work should continue to bear roles in environmental activism, activists must prioritize

building community and altering cultural consciousness. To do this, we need a new activism.

Top-Down to Bottom-Up

Though institutional change is potent and pervasive in big battles against significant

powers, community building alone amplifies an individual’s voice on a more intimate personal

scale than is possible through a distant lens of democratic representation. Whereas in lobbying,

an activist might be one voice among hundreds of professional corporate influencers, within

communities the voice of a neighbor is trusted and respected. This is unique to small grassroots

organizing which relies heavily on interpersonal relationships and emotional appeal. These

friendships are absolutely necessary not only to build influence but to provide positive support

for others equally prone to activist pessimism. We are reminded by the hard work of our fellows

that our efforts are not wasted and our voices important. Additionally, these friendships promote

individual behaviors within society, creating a domino effect of norm-setting largely inaccessible

solely through elitist top-down change.

Grassroots organizing currently lacks the large-scale solidarity necessary to effectively

address huge environmental crises, but this does not make it less necessary. Where top-down

frameworks fail in motivating personal behavioral changes and empowering the public to act

collaboratively and sustainably, bottom-up frameworks succeed. These networks motivate us to

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persevere and promote true popular sovereignty the likes of which a country such as the United

States political system—with its shamefully low voter turnouts—should support if it wishes to

reflect democratic ideals. Though localized organizing can seem too small and disjunctive, this is

a flaw of current recruiting tactics rather than of bottom-up activism itself. We must act in

solidarity as a globe and not as mere representatives of it if we are to save ourselves. We must

intertwine our roots.

Failed Attempts at Engaging the Public

Traditional activism has failed to remedy exhaustingly counterproductive divides

amongst the public because tactics historically employed fail to engage the public in a positive

and empathetic manner. University of Michigan Sustainable Enterprise professor Andrew

Hoffman analyzes this failure within the context of the environmental movement in How Culture

Shapes the Climate Change Debate. Hoffman argues that environmental activism—specifically

the push for climate action, though easily extrapolated to related work—has devolved into a

“rhetorical contest more akin to the spectacle of a sports match, pitting one side against the other

with the goal of victory through the cynical use of politics, fear, distrust, and intolerance” (3).

Perhaps it is human nature to seek domination and glory for supposedly conquering an

intellectual combatant, but the results disappoint if the goal was to exchange perspectives and

motivate support for one’s environmental aspirations. Few among us are genuinely propelled to

take up another’s project after distant, elitist scientific data is condescendingly recited to us, and

any appeal to common values or emotions is painfully neglected. If emotions are used within

these conversations, they too often involve fear tactics which turn people off rather than motivate

the 80% of us who are far more receptive to optimism (Hoffman 30). Rather than believe that

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truth (as environmentalists trustingly accept it from our scientific peers) alone will persuade

others to action or mere compliance, we must accept that the way we present data can itself be

polarizing. Therefore, so says Hoffman, our messages, messengers, and the process—science and

other professional analysis, traditionally—from which we glean our goals must all be perceived

as neutral to effectively motivate those who label themselves with different political affiliations.

Similarly, psychologist and economist Per Espen Stoknes evaluates why environmental

issues remain politically divided and how we might remedy this partition. Agreeing with

Hoffman that past attempts, specifically regarding climate change, at bringing dissenters to

common ground with environmentalists fall short and are at times even counterproductive,

Stoknes argues that environmental activism needs to be socially and positively bonded upon

common values (90). While avoiding the doomsday diatribes of rising sea levels and dead polar

bears that Hoffman also contends precludes audience receptivity, it is important to offer solutions

to channel momentum into action (Hoffman 30; Stoknes 90). We must speak to commonalities,

referencing that which is universal to humanity rather than inundate our neighbors with scientific

and economic statistics of which they have little understanding, emotional connection, or

ownership.

Science and related professional pursuits undoubtedly have roles to play within

environmentalism. They serve to investigate key questions and quantify answers to guide our

solutions, but they do little to consolidate the community so vitally important in environmental

activism. Many people do not trust scientists and economists just as they do not trust elites

issuing rules for them; it is hard to entrust faith in someone with whom you cannot relate

performing a process in which you have no involvement. Because everyday folks have no

ownership over the scientific information thrown at them, activists using only cold, hard facts

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fail to motivate and involve the people most harmed by environmental threats: the poor, the

racial minorities, the single mothers who never attended college and likely have no time for or

interest in someone else’s statistics. Moreover, data can easily be misconstrued for the purpose of

an argument, with the most apt example being the success of efforts by Fred Seitz and Fred

Singer persuading the American public that climate change is not real, anthropogenic, harmful,

or require action (Oreskes and Conway). Science alone cannot solidify a community because it

does not motivate humans to reconnect to the larger environmental system or recognize the need

to do so, and because each of us has a role in altering that system, we must all be aware and

engaged in maintaining its healthy functioning.

Artivism as a Solution

As we understand traditional media to be inadequate in creating lasting change for issues

affecting everyone, an imperative for an alternative vehicle arises. In addition to deviating from

the scientific norm, this vehicle needs to evoke emotional responses, be perceived as nonpartisan,

connect society, and offer activist outlets to channel momentum. My solution was inspired by a

youth climate change conference called Power Shift Midwest in which activists attended an

event inviting them and members of the local Detroit community to share their stories, emotions,

and ideal changes in the form of rap, poetry, singing, musical instruments, skits, and the like.

Additionally, a banner to be used in a protest march the next day was laid out for attendees to

decorate and sign. Seeing artists vulnerable and the audience supportive and inspired to march

for justice, I realized that these abstract methods of communicating our own human experiences

motivate people to action. They built the friendship and support needed to tackle frustrating

issues while granting therapeutic release. Artivism became my solution.

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As the name suggests, artivism combines art and activism. Art itself is more trickily

defined than conventionally understood. Some attempt to label it as that which frees, educates,

relieves one of the heaviness of being, shares a perspective, and incites new ideas. Throughout

these conceptions, one aspect seems constant: art is community. When an emotion or experience

is externalized and someone else derives meaning from it, this is art. More important than the

message intended or gleaned, art is the bridge itself connecting the mind of the artist and the

mind of the viewer because it so neutrally enraptures the senses, provokes thought and inquiry

regarding artist intent or viewer reception, and presents a universal symbol of human experience.

Within today’s increased political polarization and prominent xenophobia, art is the method

necessary to engage across perspectives. The bridge between artist and viewer is one of

receptivity, diverse perspective sharing, and personal connection, which is where the discussion

—not argument—on environmental issues must begin.

“From Activism to Artivism” penned it better than I can with this paragraph: “The

climate movement is ultimately not about carbon, but about people. If people don’t feel

personally connected to climate change, there’s only so much that economics and science can do

to inspire them to action. But art influences many of us in a way in which science, economics,

and policy cannot. It speaks to us in a personal and sometimes spiritual way, evoking emotions

and affecting how we view the world around us. Art reflects our culture, and our desires, dreams,

and sufferings as a species, and has the potential to bring us together in times of strife. There’s

nothing we need more than to be brought together, and perhaps art is the best way to get us

there.” Art is essentially about sharing human perspective in a neutral, universally meaningful

manner—even if we do not all interpret it similarly, it still provokes thought. Thus art is

distinguishable from scientific data, convoluted statistics, and mass media which present

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information matter-of-factly with the expectation that the public should simply accept the word

of a highly educated or otherwise extremely privileged person. Art is more inclusive because it

asks the viewer to form their own conclusions without any educational prerequisites. Not only do

I believe that we can all gain a new understanding from art without feeling like anyone is

oppressively telling us what to believe, but I think we are all artists because we can all

externalize our emotions for others in ways that are universally interpretable and cathartic.

As much as art is intended to educate and share a common perspective between artist and

audience, the process of its creation is also important in maintaining activist motivation. Art can

be cathartic and allow humans to express emotions that otherwise would be suppressed and never

given room for validation and confrontation. To create is to manage by simplifying an

overwhelming experience into a symbol, and in this way art becomes resilience against

environmental pessimism. One English sculptor and philanthropist put it this way, “To be an

artist is to believe in life.” If you are willing to express your emotions, to be a little vulnerable, to

open yourself up to interpretation so that someone else might do the same because you want

something to change as a result of that expression, then you believe that things matter, that life

matters, that certain things are worth doing over others to protect what you value. To be an artist

is to be an environmentalist.

Centre College Artivism Festival

After reaching the conclusions presented above, I collaborated with my partners Kasen

Hollingsworth and Nathan Carrier to bring artivism to our own campus. At first dubbing it a

“rally,” we later decided to refer to the event as a “festival,” which seemed more neutral and

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upbeat. We anticipated this festival would be especially important not only considering the

ongoing election and its obvious divisiveness but also in the historic isolation of the Centre

College campus from the remainder of the Danville and statewide community. This isolation is

jokingly called the “Centre bubble,” and students often sardonically refer to Danville citizens as

“townies.” Even within campus, cliques are evident as students affiliate with certain

organizations and are rarely offered a truly engaging, fun opportunity to build new friendships

outside of them. With our festival, we intended to pop the Centre bubble and promote intergroup

exchange by inviting local artists, townspeople, church folk, Greek organizations, members of

Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (KFTC) and the Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition

(KSEC), community service groups, students of all majors and backgrounds, the Centre

Environmental Association (CEA), and anyone else craving catharsis and the opportunity to

impact and be impacted by new perspectives.

Within this event, we followed the teachings of Hoffman and Stoknes by ensuring our

festival was nonpartisan, social, positive, emotional rather than scientific, and solution-based.

We accomplished neutrality by opening our artists’ topics of discussion beyond explicitly

“environmental” issues. Though the event was sanctioned by the Centre Environmental

Association, my partners and I promoted the Artivism Festival as a social justice initiative. We

promoted social bonding by recruiting participants and attendees from all over the surrounding

community for fun and friendship. During the festival, we kept our messaging positive and

supportive and encouraged artists to do likewise. By focusing on abstract artistic media, we

endorsed the use of emotional rather than scientific appeals. Incorporating substantive activist

outlets, we channeled emotional responses into the tangible change we all wished to see.

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To prepare for the event, my partners and I began recruiting artivists to present their

medium of choice—be it dance, visual art, poetry, singing, instrumental, theater, or otherwise.

We designed and disseminated flyers not only around campus but to surrounding churches and

restaurants. We constructed a Facebook event page and invited our friend groups while posting

on existing pages such as the Bonner Community Service Organization, Kentucky Student

Environmental Coalition, Centre Environmental Association, Centre Environmental Studies, and

Wilderness Trace Chapter of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth. We sent out tweets, a campus-

wide email, a promotion in the college weekly newsletter, as well as emails to professors within

different departments to invite their students to contribute art or simply attend. We painted a

banner with venue information and hung it in the student dining hall a week prior to the festival,

the same banner we brought to the festival for attendees to sign and decorate. While undoubtedly

this media served to validate the event and spark interest, the most effective recruitment tactic for

artists proved to be “friend-banking.” Many of those agreeing to dedicate their time to be in the

spotlight were people we knew through other pursuits: sports, service organizations, campus

groups, classes. In some cases—such as my own exchange with student and fellow Bonner Justin

Ngyuen in which I was asked to rap for a song he was making so that he would perform at the

festival—our pleas for their contributions became transactions in which we felt more obligated to

show up for their own projects. Even prior to the event, we had begun building friendships.

When the festival transpired, a few dozen artists planned to contribute. My partners and I

set up the visual art beforehand, pinning up protest photography by a fellow member of the local

KFTC chapter alongside student paintings, collages, and prints; assisting the glassblowers in

erecting pedestals and adjusting lights; arranging ceramics on tables; and posting silent auction

sheets for the pieces donated to the CEA Green Revolving Fund (GRF) which purchases

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efficiency upgrades on campus, resulting in almost $200 raised. We encouraged attendees to

grab food and come and go at their leisure while viewing art at their own meditative pace. The

performances began with poetry readings, the topics of which ranged from mass consumerism to

waste to inadequate mass media to simply living mindfully. Music followed, and artists sang

while others played fiddles, saxophones, records, and guitars, many wordlessly but not without

eliciting a meaningful emotional response. Still others rapped about the need to serve the

community. Two artists—including myself—performed dances which concluded the event

before we began the KSEC Letter to the Editor (LTE) writing workshop.

We planned our festival in conjunction with the Centre Environmental Association’s

Sustainability Month event and received assistance and participation from many of its members.

But the funding for the local, predominantly organic and vegan food at the event derived from

my community service organization, Bonner. Other materials—such as the banner and paints for

it—were donated by friends, some later attending the event simply because that transaction had

made them aware of the festival’s occurrence and because they now had a stake in contributing

to the event’s success. Indeed, giving ownership to those who contributed their art or mere

presence effectively drew crowds of well over one hundred people, friends of those presenting or

those presenting themselves. By making this festival theirs, we empowered them to carry on

artivism in the future even devoid of our assistance.

This longevity was likely also promoted by the establishment of new relationships

between attendees and the strengthening of bonds between people who had known each other

prior. Folks strolled around the room, viewing the visual art, or rested in the group-oriented but

casual seating arrangement, promoting intergroup exchange. My partners and I verbally

encouraged new interactions and even went so far as to introduce people from our own groups.

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Through this, more people became aware of the Centre Environmental Association and even

signed up for emails from the Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition. All attendees, but

especially artists, were encouraged by the supportive environment to reveal themselves honestly

and cathartically, and so interpersonal trust developed. Everyone was reminded that their voice

mattered, it could make a difference, it could be expressed without educational prerequisites and

still resonate with others, and people would still love them for it.

Though the large attendance and overwhelmingly positive feedback speaks to the success

of our goals, there remains room for improvement. In order to maintain the bonds strengthened

by the festival, accurately gauge attendance, and decipher which advertisement medium was

most effective in recruitment, we would have liked to provide a sign-in sheet for attendees to fill

out their names, contact information, interest in receiving emails from CEA or KSEC, and the

way they heard about the event. Additionally, placards promoting the local, organic caterer and

explaining why we chose vegetarian and vegan options (to cut down on climate impact

associated with animal agriculture) would have promoted these choices outside of the event. In

order to create an even larger audience, authorizing the event as a college convocation would

have further incentivized student attendance. Lastly, though art is itself a connection between

artist and audience, some sort of mechanism—a speed friending game or forum, perhaps—for

ensuring conversations happened between attendees who might never have spoken otherwise

would have been ideal for promoting diverse exchange.

Hoping to promote events like ours in the future, we disseminated literary media to

increase awareness. While my own focus within this project entailed synthesizing our

motivations and process into this essay, my partners produced LTEs and sent them to multiple

newspapers around Kentucky and Michigan, Hollingsworth’s home state. Additionally, we

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successfully solicited the assistance of the school newspaper, Cento, to write an article about the

event so that those who did not attend might still become aware of its occurrence. Lastly, we

have asked the Centre Environmental Association to continue this festival as an annual part of

their Sustainability Month and offered our continued assistance in making that happen.

Toward a New Activism

The Artivism Festival employed both the cathartic, communal process and alluring,

beautiful product of art to unite sects of the Danville community: students and faculty of all

vocations and affiliations, churches, local artists, and environmentalists statewide. This festival

showcased passions to inspire others to use art in changing society together because of shared

values. It built positive, receptive relationships between distinctive members of the Danville

community, encouraged emotional vulnerability and art in activism, promoted the Centre

Environmental Association and Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition, taught and produced

LTE writing, raised money for the campus Green Revolving Fund, disseminated news media

about this work and its affiliated organizations, and set a precedent for similar events.

We have set the standard for deviating from ostracizing protests and blame games,

teaching all participants that being positive, authentic, empathetic, and metaphorical can

transcend barriers in human communication. If we as environmentalists continue to believe in

life, we must invest in it: by engaging the public and empathizing with the experiences of all

humans. We must remind ourselves of the commonality of our values and focus on how the

environment connects us. Art reminds us of these connections and tears down the partitions

humans erect between ourselves, and we must still love each other for those evolutionary

tendencies while seeking to remediate them. It is necessary for our solidarity and survival.

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Works Cited

Cilento, Christina and Emma Hutchinson. “From Activism to Artivism: Using Culture to Fight Climate Change.” Conenergy. 16 Dec. 2015. Web. 4 Dec. 2016. http://www.conergy.com/en/blog/2015/activism-artivism-using-culture-fight-climate-change

Dryzek, John S., Richard B. Norgaard, and David Schlosberg. "Climate Change and Society: Approaches and Responses." Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2011. 3-17. Print.

Hoffman, Andrew J. How Culture Shapes the Climate Change Debate. Palo Alto, US: Stanford UP, 2015. Print.

Kearns, Laurel. “The Role of Religions in Activism.” Ed. Dryzek, John S., Richard B. Norgaard, and David Schlosberg. Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford UP, 2011. Print. 414-425.

Moser, Susanne C., and Lisa Dilling. “Communicating Climate Change: Closing the Science-Action Gap.” Ed. Dryzek, John S., Richard B. Norgaard, and David Schlosberg. Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford UP, 2011. Print. 161-169.

Oreskes, Naomi, and Erik M. Conway. Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming. New York: Bloomsbury, 2010. Print.

Steffen, Will. “A Truly Complex and Diabolical Policy Problem.” Ed. Dryzek, John S., Richard B. Norgaard, and David Schlosberg. Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford UP, 2011. Print. 21-37.

Stoknes, Per Espen. What We Think About When We Try Not to Think About Global Warming: Toward a New Psychology of Climate Action. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2015. Print.

“5 Climate Change Art Projects.” CreARTivism. 9 Oct. 2014. Web. 4 Dec. 2016. http://creartivism.com/5-climate-change-art-projects/