When art met climate

Researchers have found that art on show in Paris during the 2015 United Nations climate change summit did change people’s feelings about the environmental crisis, but only if it contained a hopeful message. In a paper published in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts, Laura Kim Sommer and Christian A Klockner of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology have identified parameters for how activist art alters public opinion.

The study surveyed 874 visitors’ reactions to works on view at the ArtCOP21 climate change festival, which saw artworks scattered throughout the city of Paris to coincide with the World Climate Change Conference. It looked at their emotional reactions, the relevance of each work of art to their daily lives, and how much the works inspired personal reflection or action, according to Pacific Standard….

Of the 37 works on view, 3 works categorised under ‘the awesome solution’ made people feel like they were able to do something about climate change. These 3 works were ‘beautiful and colourful depictions of sublime nature that are showing solutions to environmental problems’, Klockner and Sommer wrote.

From ‘Can Art Change Minds About Climate Change? New Research Says It Can – But Only If It’s a Very Specific Kind of Art’, Artnet