Case study: Conversations on Climate

Equitable dialogue inspires artists to create thought-provoking works interpreting the latest environmental research

Project lead

Cabot Institute for the Environment, Cabot Conversations, 2021

Aim and approach

The Cabot Institute for the Environment’s collaborative project between artists and researchers produced a series of videos released in the lead up to the 2021 COP26 Climate Conference in Glasgow.

Available to all, the films showed not only the current climate science being conducted by the university, but also its social implications, and unique ways of expressing research and policy as art.

Practical details

After an invitation to tender in January 2021, a Bristol-based production company, Jones Millbank, were chosen to make the films, which cost £20,000 and were completed in July.

Key partnerships

The Rising Arts Agency helped identify diverse artists from South West England. Collaborations also involved members of local charities & activist groups.

Activity and outcomes

The ten 'Cabot Conversations’ each took the form of a dialogue between two experts from different disciplines in the Cabot Institute for the Environment and Bristol community organisations. The conversations reflected on the academics’ current research and how it impacts on the planet we live on, both locally and globally.

Topics ranged from climate justice to ecosystem services to net zero. An artist then used these as inspiration to produce a piece interpreting the main points of each discussion. The resulting artworks varied from paintings and poetry to rap and dance.

The videos were released weekly prior to COP26 in November and were watched by hundreds of people as they premiered on social media. They are collected as a playlist on the Cabot Institute’s YouTube channel and the full conversations are also available as hour-long podcasts.

Support

The Public Engagement team helped connect researchers with artists, several of whom had collaborated on previous engagement projects. We promoted the videos; advised on sharing with the wider community; and featured them as part of FUTURES2021.

Impact

Intended as a build up to COP26, some of the conversations and artworks were used at the Cabot Institute’s stand for policy-makers at the conference itself and as part of a subsequent Art Exhibition held in Bristol in April 2022.

The project created new partnerships between researchers, local groups and artists and demonstrated a novel way of displaying creative works.

The conversational format did not privilege academic knowledge over local expertise and opened up discussions about how Bristol communities perceive university research.

One of the artists, Parys Gardner, said:

“I think it's great that the Cabot Institute for the Environment are taking such a creative approach to learning and sharing information, it makes it more accessible to people who perhaps wouldn't normally engage with this type of work.”