Arts Council of Wales have published a new strategy that sets out how they will work with the arts sector to use arts and culture to engage with climate justice.
A Plan for Climate Justice and the Arts addresses the pivotal role that artists and creative professionals can play in thinking of innovative solutions to address the climate and nature emergencies. The Plan has a vision of the arts playing ‘a key role in inspiring the transformation we need to create a fairer world where people and nature can thrive.’ It also includes an action plan with clear outcomes that includes creating opportunities for people across Wales to engage with climate justice through creativity and supporting the arts sector to meet Welsh Government’s target of a net zero Wales by 2050.
A Plan for Climate Justice and the Arts is one of the results of a three-year Creative Nature Programme – a partnership between the Arts Council and Natural Resources Wales – to cultivate the relationship between the arts and the natural environment and improve the cultural and environmental well-being of Wales.
The Plan was developed through a co-design process led by the Centre for Alternative Technology’s Zero Carbon Britain Innovation Lab that involved over a hundred voices from a range of groups and bodies across Wales that included artists and arts organisations, environmental organisations and community groups.
Dafydd Rhys, Chief Executive of Arts Council of Wales said:
“We all need to take ownership of the climate and nature emergencies – our communities here in Wales are seeing the devasting impacts of climate change as well as communities around the world. We believe that the arts, and the organisations we fund, can play a significant role in addressing these emergencies through the power of the arts to connect and inspire.
“A commitment to climate justice is firmly embedded in the values of Arts Council of Wales and is one of six principles that guides our work. We believe that in the global effort to tackle climate and nature emergencies and achieve climate justice, the arts can use the power of creativity to imagine new futures and create change.”
Ruth Jenkins, Head of Natural Resources Management Policy at Natural Resources Wales said:
“Natural Resources Wales has been working closely with the Arts Council of Wales to develop this Plan for Climate Justice and the Arts, as part of our shared programme of work, the Creative Nature Programme.
“We are committed to inspiring people to take action and empower them to transform their relationship with nature by working with creative industries and the cultural sector.
“Artists are often the closest and most astute ears to the voices within our communities, looking at things from every angle and holding empathy and justice as a guiding light. They also are the voice that people listen to in the books they read, in the films they watch and in the music they enjoy. We are thrilled to have been part of the work to create this plan, and are in awe of the deep commitment that the cultural sector has made to working towards climate justice.”
The Plan for Climate Justice and the Arts includes milestones that will guide Arts Council of Wales and the arts sector up to 2034. The Plan is an integral strand of the ten-year Strategy to be published by Arts Council of Wales later this year.