There is a story I often return to when I think about the role of art and culture in movements for justice. It is not from a grand conference hall or a policy negotiation room, but from a township where I grew up under apartheid.
We did not always have the language of ‘human rights’ or ‘climate justice’, but we had songs, we had poetry, we had murals on crumbling walls and we had stories whispered across generations. Those cultural expressions carried courage where formal politics could not. They helped ordinary people imagine freedom long before it became reality.
Today, as we confront the climate crisis, we are again in need of imagination – radical, courageous imagination. Because let us be honest, the climate crisis is not only a scientific or technical challenge. It is a crisis of values, of power and of storytelling.
And that is precisely where art and culture must step forward – not as decoration to the movement, but as its beating heart.
Artists and climate justice – quick links
Artivism and cultural transformation
For too long, climate discourse has been dominated by graphs, policy papers and negotiations that speak primarily to the head. These are important, yes – but they are not sufficient. People do not move because of data alone. People move because they feel, because they connect, because they see themselves reflected in a story. Art and culture speak to that deeper human place where transformation begins.
We must remember that the majority of the world – especially in the Global South – is already living the realities of climate breakdown. Farmers watching their land turn to dust. Coastal communities seeing the ocean swallow their homes. Young people carrying eco-anxiety like a shadow they cannot shake.
And yet, these same communities are not only victims, they are also creators. They are home to poets, musicians, storytellers, dancers, visual artists and more, who are narrating their realities in ways that challenge dominant power structures and reclaim dignity.
When a young artist in the Pacific paints a disappearing island, or when a rapper in Johannesburg speaks about inequality and environmental injustice, they are doing more than expressing themselves.
Through their creative practice and lived experience, they are reshaping the narrative. They are challenging the idea that climate change is a distant, abstract issue. They are saying: this is about our lives, our cultures, our futures.
This is what is increasingly called ‘artivism‘ – the fusion of art and activism. It is not new. We saw it in the anti-apartheid struggle, in civil rights movements, in struggles for gender justice. Songs became weapons. Theatre became resistance. Poetry became a form of healing. And today, we must elevate artivism as a central pillar of climate justice efforts.
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Challenging the dominant narrative
Here is the uncomfortable truth: the forces that benefit from the status quo are not only powerful economically and politically – they are powerful culturally. They shape the stories we see in the media, the aspirations we are sold, the idea that endless consumption equals success. If we are to challenge fossil fuel dependence and systemic inequality, we must also challenge the cultural narratives that sustain them.
Today, we also need art and culture to help us deal with a quieter but no less urgent crisis: the global mental health emergency, partly driven by eco-anxiety and climate grief. These are real, and they are growing. And yet, in this moment of history, pessimism is a luxury we simply cannot afford.
There is reason for hope. The efforts of campaigners, civil society and communities from across the world – from different countries, different sectors and different struggles – finally succeeded in bringing us face to face with the root cause of the climate crisis: our dependence on fossil fuels. At the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, the idea that we need a new, complementary mechanism to the COP process, such as a Fossil Fuel Treaty, is becoming more acceptable.
Art has the power to do this in ways that policy cannot. It can make the invisible visible. It can humanise statistics. It can disrupt complacency. It can build bridges across divides – between North and South, between generations, between those who feel disconnected from the crisis and those who live it every day.
But for art and culture to play this role fully, we must move beyond tokenism.
Artists at the discussion table
Too often, artists are invited in at the end of a process to ‘communicate’ decisions already made. This is not enough. Artists and cultural workers must be at the table from the beginning, helping to shape narratives, influence policy and imagine alternatives.
This is particularly important in moments like the upcoming climate negotiations in Bonn. These spaces are often dominated by technical language and geopolitical maneuvering. Yet, if they are disconnected from the lived realities and cultural expressions of people, they risk becoming sterile and ineffective. We need to bring the voices, stories, and creativity of communities into these spaces – not as an afterthought, but as a guiding force.
The Australian Government’s effort to develop a new National Cultural Policy presents an opportunity in this regard. Positioning climate as a central pillar is not just a policy choice, it is a recognition that culture shapes how we understand and respond to the polycrisis. It is an acknowledgment that we cannot build a just and sustainable future without transforming the stories we tell about ourselves and our place in the world.
And let us be clear: this transformation must be grounded in justice. Climate action that ignores inequality, colonial histories and Indigenous rights will not succeed.
Here, too, art and culture have a vital role to play. Indigenous knowledge systems, for example, offer profound insights into living in harmony with nature. These are not relics of the past – they are living traditions that must guide our future. Through storytelling, song and ceremony, these wisdoms can be shared and respected in ways that formal systems often fail to do.
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The story of the lion
There is an African proverb that says, ‘Until the lion tells the story, the hunter will always be the hero.’ For too long, the story of development and progress has been told by those in power. It has celebrated extraction, growth and domination over nature. Now, the lions must speak. And art is one of the most powerful ways they can.
At the same time, we must also acknowledge the role of art in repair and healing. The climate crisis brings not only physical destruction but emotional and psychological trauma.
Art creates spaces for grief, for reflection, for connection. It reminds us of our shared humanity. And in a world that often feels fragmented and polarized, that is no small thing.
So where do we go from here? We need greater investment in artists and cultural initiatives that engage with climate justice – especially in the Global South. We need to integrate art and culture into education, into policymaking, into movement-building. We need to support platforms that amplify marginalised voices. And we need to challenge ourselves, as activists and policymakers, to embrace creativity – not as a luxury, but as a necessity.
Because ultimately, the struggle for climate justice is not just about preventing catastrophe. It is about building a world rooted in dignity, equity and care. And to build that world, we must first be able to imagine it.
Art helps us imagine.
Culture helps us remember who we are.
And together, they can help us become who we need to be.
As we approach the SB64 meetings in Germany this July ahead of COP 31 in Turkey in November, let us carry this with us: the fight for our planet is not only a technical battle – it is a cultural one. If we win the story, we stand a chance of winning the future.
This article is co commissioned by ArtsHub and Creative Climate.
