Since the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, civil society members have become increasingly active in the global dialogue on environmental issues. More recently, the cultural sector has begun to explore innovative ways to engage the pressing issues of environmental sustainability.
The latest research from ASEF Linking the Arts to Environment and Sustainable Development, contains case studies from nine Asian countries, which serve as good practices in connecting the arts to initiatives tackling environmental sustainability issues. These case studies will inspire networking and collaborations between professionals in Asia and Europe and also to aid policymaking and planning.
The projects range from creative interventions, public arts initiatives, to seminars and trainings. The focus was on examples that went beyond merely employing the arts as tools for information dissemination to initiatives that envisaged art as a catalyst to stimulate discussion and foster change by posing relevant questions.
Researchers interviewed leaders of these initiatives to explore the issues and themes in depth. Selection of case studies considered elements such as the sustainability of projects as well as the importance of audience development.
The dossier is an outcome of the Connect2Culture programme which engaged over 100 creative professionals on environmental topics.