We are living through a ‘crisis of imagination’ and we believe critical creative responses are key. As is often said, “It is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of Capitalism”. These times ask us to come together, to question the stories we live by individually and collectively, and how these stories can both limit and support our ability to respond. The arts can help us sense more intimately where we are, to connect across difference, to understand the plurality of lifeworlds that coexist in the present. It can provide tools to co-create visions of possibility for the future and re-orient us towards alternative ways of being and knowing the world.

Ongoing funding cuts to the arts, education, health, and social services are limiting our country's ability to think and act deeply, critically, and creatively together about these crises. At its core, the climate crisis is a cultural problem that requires cultural solutions – which is why the arts and cultural sector not only needs to be valued in these times but also needs to step up to demonstrate why and how we matter. In these times of systemic injustice and collapse, creativity is not just needed for the production of artwork but in the ways we (re)organise ourselves. We need to reflect upon and shift the cultural norms, imbalances of power, and institutional and operational practices within our sector to ensure that the values we carry are reflected in the way we move in the world.

Art is a space of possibility, hope, and contradiction. Just as there are many ways to address the climate crisis; there are many ways that art can contribute. From advocating, communicating, mobilising, supporting, healing, and communing – it is a reflection of our values, needs, and beliefs.  We are interested in art that is in service to the world, whose value and potential in these times contribute to cultures of change. Western artistic models, however, are also well known for their individualist, hegemonic, competitive tendencies. A sector that too often sees itself as separate and autonomous from the cultures, communities, and ecologies it’s part of. This is the same colonial imaginary that has enabled the destruction of the planet – through the severing of the relational in favour of extractive practices and the myth of the un-grounded individual.

At ACFA we understand that there is no Climate Justice without First Nations Justice and that the ecological destruction we are experiencing is the direct result of colonisation. Art has an opportunity to increase active allyship as individuals and organisations that support the leadership and stewardship of First Peoples as they heal Country, revive Culture and resist the ongoing destruction of their Country. This means reckoning with how western art institutes colonial power relations and imaginaries, to help us be able to walk together, in reciprocity, mutuality and humility towards a brighter future.

The practice of art can be a space of knowledge production through play, curiosity, experimentation, and remembrance. It can hold space for collaboration and chaos, navigate the unknown together, and co-create emergent forms. Importantly, it is a community that is led by values, care, and curiosity. We know that our sector has the heart to prioritise this escalating crisis, and can be a huge contributor to building cultures of solidarity.