Presentation Type
Presentation
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Professor Peter McDonough
Faculty Mentor’s Department
Climate Change Studies
Abstract / Artist's Statement
Visual and auditory art are incredibly powerful tools of expression. They have the ability to communicate influential ideas to the public in ways that otherwise cannot be expressed at nearly the same caliber. Artists of so many backgrounds, trades, talents, and mediums have been telling moral and ethical stories while emphasizing important societal subjects for years through theater, film, music, art, photography, writing, and so much more. With the impacts of climate change becoming ever more present, education, urgency, optimism, and courage are so essential to making necessary individual and societal change. In crises like this when experts and scientists tell us loud and clear what is wrong and what needs to be done, people often respond emotionally rather than rationally. Art is often an emotional communicator and can better persuade and inspire that population.
Given the pandemic situation, this project will be held at the UM Flat and will be a collaboration between artists of the UM and Missoula communities and the Climate Change Studies program that raises money for UM Sustainability projects such as refillable water bottle stations. Such an event could include original or unoriginal art works by artists of all disciplines: music, dance, photography, visual art, writing, and more. In order to quantify how well the event will communicate to and inspire those who come, a survey will be made available to visitors to measure their emotional responses to the artwork. This project draws ideas from past UM art shows organized by Nicky Phear, Project Earth, orchestrated by UM’s Dr. James Smart, and from art shows and exhibits around the world that seek to educate about climate change as we do. This exhibition will offer an expressive and educational environment open to creative ideas that communicate optimism, empowerment, necessary change, and urgency. Overall, this project is a framework for the Art and Sustainability fundraiser that will be held in Autumn 2020.
Category
Humanities
Art & Sustainability Fundraiser
Visual and auditory art are incredibly powerful tools of expression. They have the ability to communicate influential ideas to the public in ways that otherwise cannot be expressed at nearly the same caliber. Artists of so many backgrounds, trades, talents, and mediums have been telling moral and ethical stories while emphasizing important societal subjects for years through theater, film, music, art, photography, writing, and so much more. With the impacts of climate change becoming ever more present, education, urgency, optimism, and courage are so essential to making necessary individual and societal change. In crises like this when experts and scientists tell us loud and clear what is wrong and what needs to be done, people often respond emotionally rather than rationally. Art is often an emotional communicator and can better persuade and inspire that population.
Given the pandemic situation, this project will be held at the UM Flat and will be a collaboration between artists of the UM and Missoula communities and the Climate Change Studies program that raises money for UM Sustainability projects such as refillable water bottle stations. Such an event could include original or unoriginal art works by artists of all disciplines: music, dance, photography, visual art, writing, and more. In order to quantify how well the event will communicate to and inspire those who come, a survey will be made available to visitors to measure their emotional responses to the artwork. This project draws ideas from past UM art shows organized by Nicky Phear, Project Earth, orchestrated by UM’s Dr. James Smart, and from art shows and exhibits around the world that seek to educate about climate change as we do. This exhibition will offer an expressive and educational environment open to creative ideas that communicate optimism, empowerment, necessary change, and urgency. Overall, this project is a framework for the Art and Sustainability fundraiser that will be held in Autumn 2020.