Engaging the Whole Human - Merging Scientific and Artistic Practice to Address Climate Change and Enable More Resilient and Just Futures

Abstract:

Understanding the complexities of climate change and working toward a more resilient and equitable society requires scientific knowledge as a foundation for identifying causal factors and mapping the consequences of alternative pathways forward. It also requires imagination, emotional intelligence, sensitivity to injustice, and a healthy relationship with the unknown. In short, it requires the whole human. In an era of expertise and specialization, engaging the whole human necessitates interdisciplinary collaboration uniting multiple skills, knowledges and approaches, and provides unique opportunities to deepen the value and impact of one’s work.

Recognizing the need for artists, climate experts, and community advocates to learn from one another, Headlands Center for the Arts, located in the Marin Headlands near San Francisco, CA, hosted two cross-disciplinary residency convenings in 2016 and 2018. Each residency lasted 4-5 days and gathered diverse experts from the Earth sciences and social sciences, climate justice communities, and artists working in modes of practice ranging from sculpture to filmmaking, dance, music, painting, and social practice. Residents lived and ate together. They shared their work, what motivates them, where they get stuck, and what they hope and fear for the future. Through facilitated discussion, embodied experiences, and collaborative brainstorming, residents developed new insights, forged new collaborations, and raised many questions that now inform their own inquiry and practice. Several of the new artistic works and writing that emerged from the residencies were featured in an exhibit called Tomorrow is Already Here at Headlands Center for the Arts in early 2020.

We highlight examples drawn from the experiences of the Headlands residents of 1) artistic practice informed by scientific inquiry, 2) scientific inquiry and communication enhanced by artistic practice, and 3) scientific and artistic practices working together to catalyze new ways of understanding and re-imaging our complex relationships with one another and the environmental and social systems that we exist within. These examples demonstrate the potential for human intellect, creativity, feelings, and values to play synergistic roles in articulating and enabling more just and resilient futures.