Art Can Help Broaden the Public Conversation on Climate Change

Climate Change is a complex scientific subject with a plethora of data-rich reports that detail its causation and diverse impacts. Nevertheless, as important as all that information is, not everyone responds to facts and figures or charts and graphs. Given the importance of raising awareness and increasing public understanding of this critical issue, alternate methods are needed to reach this group.

Working at the intersection of art and science, I recently developed a lecture called, “The Art and Science of Climate Change”. It introduces audiences to the basic science of climate change and explores how artists are reacting to its various impacts and possible solutions. Building on this, I was curious to know if climate-art was influencing people’s opinions. Therefore, moving from the qualitative to the quantitative, I conducted an online poll of people from across the US using Survey Monkey. Participants were asked comparison questions about the influence of traditional graphs vs. artistic interpretations of climate change. The graphs were sourced from the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) and the artwork came from both photojournalists and conceptual artists.

The poster will present the results of this national survey, which show art to be a powerful tool of communication that helps to broaden the public conversation on climate change.