From Grief to Agency: Using environmental art to strive for environmental justice in rural Minnesota

 Art for Climate Justice 

“Climate Grief” is defined as a natural response related to the contemporary and anticipated environmental losses including, “loss of species, ecosystems and meaningful landscapes due to acute or chronic environmental change.” Our emotional response to the pressures of climate change, often overwhelming, can create a sense of helplessness in the face of change too big for us to respond to or even conceptualize. 

Politically and economically, rural Minnesotans feel distant from the centers of government. This contributes to a sense of powerlessness to act to address climate change. The state legislature is governed by a majority elected with a metro- and metro-suburban bias, and statewide offices often reflect the voting preferences of metro- and metro-suburban residents. Rural residents are unable to achieve a sense of collective agency within our political system. Without a sense of collective agency, personal agency withers. 

This project used art to reframe the experience of climate grief in a rural context as an impetus for action in environmental justice. 

Outcomes 

• Creation of Catherine Meier’s “Navigating by Color” art series, with three paintings titled “East,” “South,” and “West, from where the Baptism River meets Lake Superior” 
• Creation of a brief documentary about environmental art
• Artwork permanently installed in the Martin Library
• Artwork displayed at 18 kiosks running up and down the north shore

Check out this online publication to learn more about the artists, scientists and educators in the collaborative project.