Crystal Mackay

If the hottest year on record has taught us anything, it’s that real change is needed. Fast. And if we are going to have any success in making change toward a more sustainable future, the shift can’t just be in the technological and ecological realms, it also has to encompass cultural and societal components. For Western professors Joshua Schuster and Kirsty Robertson, the role art and literature play in that shift is the focus of their academic and scholarly activities. Robertson is the Canada Research Chair in Museums, Art and Sustainability and the director of the Centre for Sustainable Curating. She is also a founding member of a project called the Synthetic Collective, a SSHRC-funded collaboration among visual artists, cultural researchers and scientists. The aim is to sample, understand and visualize the complexities of plastics and micro-plastics pollution in the Great Lakes Region. The project is producing both scientific papers and art exhibitions. The role art plays in communicating about our current climate crisis is critical, she said. Her group quickly realized that if they were going to reach a wide audience, they had to explore a range of platforms to share the message, and art was a way to access an audience beyond the scientific one. “It’s not that art is a more powerful medium nor is it the only way to get the message across,” Robertson said. “I think at the current moment in time, the more avenues we have for discussing the issues and the crises and the multiple crises that we’re in, the better.”  

A deeper understanding. And a place to start

Schuster, a professor of English and writing studies, is the director of the Centre for the Study of Theory and Criticism and teaches environmental literature. He recently published the book What Is Extinction? A Natural and Cultural History of Last Animals, detailing key moments in the history of animal extinction. The book, which won the 25th annual Susan M. Glasscock Book Prize this year, explores the artistic forms used to document and interpret these events. Schuster stressed that using art and literature to convey a message about the need for drastic change also means getting everyone involved in learning about environmental issues through the arts. “Art and humanities are actually a requirement to help understand something so complex. It’s not enough to just electrify all our cars and have more sustainable infrastructure. Ecological changes for the long-term have to be social and cultural as well.” Art helps ground us, drawing attention to the world around us, Schuster said. “It makes us more grateful, curious and attentive to our environment. And at the end of the day, it helps remind us why we are here on Earth. Maybe it is just to share our planet, and one of the most positive ways to do that is to make art together,” he said. Through his teaching, Schuster encourages students to reflect on not just what they have learned from the literature they are reading but also to consider how the arts can spur action. “It is part of the story that we don’t have easy solutions,” he said. “But there is something healing about reading and reflecting — looking at the difficulties and celebrating the good things that are happening. That’s part of the cultural transition needed to get us towards sustainability.” One of the ways Robertson is encouraging her students and artists to take action is through the Centre for Sustainable Curating. The Centre encourages research into waste, pollution and the climate crisis and also encourages the development of new sustainable ways to create and exhibit art with low-waste and lower carbon-emissions. “Students love this because it gives them a concrete starting point to make a difference. An important part of this work is creating art in a way that isn’t doing further environmental harm,” she said. “Sometimes the issues can feel overwhelming, and that can almost stop action because you don’t know where to start.”  

Toward a more sustainable future

While both Robertson and Schuster have seen a renewed interest from their students in artwork and literature that help deepen understanding about the environment, this phenomenon isn’t new. Artists have been contemplating humans’ impact on the planet for centuries. “I can think of many examples since the industrial revolution of artists reacting to the beginning of the Great Acceleration and using the capacities of art to show people what that looked like. But I don’t think at the time they understood the long-term impact,” said Robertson. Current artists are less engaged in drawing attention to the impact of human activity, and instead are trying to intervene by suggesting new possibilities for a more sustainable future. But the onus can’t be placed solely on the next generation to come up with solutions, Robertson stressed. “We all need to be providing solutions from our own areas of expertise, whether that be scientific, cultural or artistic. There is so much potential for sharing of knowledge across different sectors toward our common goals.” Read more from Our Warming Planet, a series featuring Western University researchers and scholars addressing the great challenge of our time.