When my friend Judy Chicago asked me to join her new project calling for creative responses to the ecological crisis, I knew I had to help.
In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, humankind is at an existential crossroad: We can get through the health crisis and return to normal or we can realize that ‘normal’ was the problem and choose a better path.
That is why we are inviting people everywhere, including you, to participate in a global art project to offer an alternative vision to “normal,” one that honors the planet and all living creatures, one that promotes equity and justice for all, one that offers hope in a world that is on the wrong track.
The response has been amazing. We launched #CreateArtForEarth just before Earth Day and more than 6000 posts have used the hashtag on instagram. We’re going to keep going, keep pushing for creative visions, but I wanted to share a few of my favorites with you so far.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_VU9iWHI_l/
I love “Child’s Prayer” by Diane Marsh. It makes me think of the young climate strikers fighting for a livable future. They are the ones who inspired me to launch Fire Drill Fridays and do everything I can for climate justice.
“Low Lying Island” by Laura Mychal wonderfully captures the polluting industries locking us into the status quo.
Normal has meant the Arctic ice melting, oceans warming, massive wildfires; extreme weather events, the extinction of billions of living creatures, governments and banks continuing to support and subsidize the fossil fuel industry, the very industry which is behind most of these climate emergencies. We can’t let that continue.
This post by Queerbrownvegan needs to be seen.
Normal has meant that the poor, the vulnerable, and communities of color, have been targets of the oil industry’s pollution that makes them vulnerable to pandemics and extreme weather events, none of which they are responsible for.
This poster is also protest ready. Ready to be taken into the streets when we can safely move out of quarantine.
Lon Chan’s “Fight For Our Planet also seems protest ready. It speaks to the power of our vision and actions.
To close, I want to thank Emily Barns for her illustration and the whole big movement supporting Fire Drill Fridays. When we launched Fire Drill Fridays last fall we didn’t know it would work, I just knew I had to do something. But it could not be clearer, millions of people are fighting for a better future. Each and everyone of you makes this movement special.
Share your vision. Upload your creations to social media with the hashtag #CreateArtForEarth.
#CreateArtForEarth is a call for global creative response to the climate crisis and the pandemic afflicting us. It was initiated by artists Judy Chicago, Swoon, and Jane Fonda in partnership with in partnership with Fire Drill Fridays, Greenpeace, the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., and Serpentine Galleries, London.
