What are the stakes of art and art history in the climate crisis? In recent years, climate change has become a central issue on the international political agenda, due to the activism of groups such as Extinction Rebellion and the worldwide campaigning of figures such as Greta Thunberg. Yet the disastrous effects of excessive fossil fuel emissions on the biosphere and human civilisation have long been understood by scientists, politicians and public figures alike, and environmental activism is hardly a new phenomenon. In this decisive moment for our planet, we need to think critically about who or what is allowed to represent the climate crisis. As Chika Unigwe has recently argued, the long-term efforts of climate activists of colour in the global south risk erasure in the western media’s current promotion of Thunberg.
This conference considers the role representation plays in our understanding of climate, and asks why some images of climate activism and environmental disaster might appear and become more alluring, effective and widespread than others. Conversely, this conference asks what the particular dialectical potentials of art might be in the effort to avert the more catastrophic levels of warming.
Historians of art and visual culture, artists, and activists are warmly invited to submit proposals for papers and presentations at this summer conference, which is generously supported by the Association for Art History. This conference will take place on June 26-27, 2020 in London.