A Challenge for Culture by Chloë Uden
Chloe’s thought piece and one of her poems from our final Moths to a Flame publication.
UK Gov says, we must reduce our carbon emissions by 68% by 2030 (from 1990 levels) to stay on track for 1.5 degrees increase in global heating. So now, at the start of 2022; we have 8 years to make the difference and act for good.
According to the Climate Change Committee; over 50% of changes needed are modifications to our behaviour - changes in our culture.
How we use our energy, the choices we make, will either contribute to these problems, or it will respond. It is with this in mind that The Art and Energy Collective endeavours to "be the change we want to see in the world".
I used to be a puppeteer, a maker, an illustrator. AND I worked in the sustainable energy sector. It was a full and busy life. Then, my twins were born, and I realised I only had 21 hours a week in which to 'work'. I didn't feel I could sacrifice either of my passions. The only choice was to combine the two, the ART and the ENERGY.
Contemplating this conundrum, making work in the space between, is probably my first genuinely creative act. I acted out of necessity to bring balance to my life and it opened a door in my imagination for something new to arrive.
Finding companions on the journey, particularly Naomi and Jenny who want to explore this too, creates dialogue which enriches all of us. It makes it more tangible.
Together we don't necessarily feel like we have a clear vision of what a sustainable future will look like, but we have a clear set of values with which to chart our course.
I would like to invite you to consider what combining your PASSIONS with your own response to the climate emergency might look like. How can you do BOTH?
Love, enjoyment, nature, joy, fun, friends, play, entertainment; those things we choose to do in life for pleasure are a key to unlocking our motivation and imagination to respond to life's challenges.
This is not to say that it will be plain sailing. Navigating your own journey will involve trying and failing and then trying again. The important thing is to continue, to try to make sense of this mess, to learn and to move on.
We can be sure, that a sustainable future doesn't look like the past or the present. Similarly, it's likely that art in the future won't look like it does now. So don't be worried if you find yourself doing something that feels totally new.
There are lots of people in our area already doing amazing new things to respond to this challenge: People setting up recycling projects, 'borrow don't buy' clubs, community energy groups, sustainable transport teams, researchers in local institutions, campaigners trying to call for a difference to be made.
Art and Energy works with lots of groups, because art is not separate from life, and we all need each other's skills, knowledge, networks, support, recognition and encouragement. It's good to break down barriers and to collaborate.
Our culture has to change, and a new culture is a story that we must imagine and write together.
This thought piece has been taking from our final Moths to a Flame publication, available to purchase via the link on this page or in our online shop.
All purchases support the work of The Art and Energy Collective - thank you.
Forewing
It was the end of the world,
and the family lit 2000 candles for hope:
We nearly burned down the house...
When we felt the danger, we threw the candles onto the bonfire
and huddled in the dark underneath cold stars
wondering what on earth we had done.
We didn’t notice the whisper of moths.
It’s 2020 and I pause at the dark window:
A moth flies persistently at the glass, phut, flup, thub.
It is the valiant yellow underwing.
They tell me moths are in decline...
Should I turn out the light? Could I?
In 2021, the UK hosts the UN Conference on Climate Change - COP26.
Through glass,
we will see our leaders navigating the conundrum at our core.
What will we do with our power?
As we emerge from our Covid Cocoons
to greet the world again, I invite you
to consider the moth emerging from its unseen place.
Precious little life.
As butterfly doth thrum the storm, might the moth then summon dawn.
Chloë Uden
