The green issue

Earlier this year, Yale Law School’s Cultural Cognition Project (CCP), which studies how cultural values shape public perceptions and policy beliefs, published research showing that people remain highly divided on whether humans are making the planet dangerously warmer – despite a raft of scientific reports confirming that it is. CCP’s work is beginning to help us understand why, in the face of increasing evidence, so many of us remain in denial. It is building up evidence to show that the facts may not be as important as people’s beliefs, and that they tend to adopt beliefs that are consistent with their values.

As values shape people’s responses, then artists and arts organisations have a pivotal role to play in persuading the world to recognise and respond to the challenges posed by global warming and resource scarcity. Creative and cultural expression has long been recognised and accepted as one of society’s most significant value-forming activities. Given that the resource scarcity and climate change necessitate not only a radical re-think of how we live and work, but a fundamental redefinition of the values on which those activities are based, we have the potential to be real game-changers at this time. Edwina Fitzpatrick’s work, highlighted in AP227, is a perfect example of the artists who are embracing their role changing values. As Lucy Neal and Hilary Jennings show, in their report for Mission Models Money (1), more and more artists are nurturing the cultural change we need: “Drawing on metaphor and abstraction, the arts tap deeply into intrinsic values of connection, story, place and meaning… [they have] an ability to challenge the status quo, create emergent spaces for new ideas and engage people collectively at an imaginative level”.

But we need more examples of artists who are offering new insights into the challenges facing the world and we need to get our own house in order. An MMM survey(2) has shown that whilst the majority of respondents believe that our sector should be creating more work that takes a moral leadership position, and that organisations themselves should take a moral lead, issues of resource scarcity and climate change are still not seen as mission critical. This paradox needs urgent attention.

The seminal work of Julie’s Bicycle, the growing number of other cultural sector initiatives and the commitment of individual organisations such as the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (both contributors to AP227), are forging the pathways we need to make these changes happen quickly.

It is worth reflecting for a moment on the word ‘apocalypse’ for it does not mean ‘end’. Its Greek root means ‘uncovering’ or ‘lifting the veil’. This moment in history is apocalyptic because we need to lift that veil, have the courage to look at what is happening to our world, change our behaviour and take action.

(1) and (2) See http://www.sustainableability.com