“We wanted ArtCop21 to be an inclusive platform for all activity that engages audiences in – and most importantly looks for solutions to – the climate challenge,” Lucy Wood, Programme Director of Cape Farewell, an organisation that aims to instigate a cultural response to the issue of climate change. “We’re not necessarily looking for ‘high art’, which is a terrible phrase anyway. We are looking for work that is provocative, moving, inspiring - work that uses creativity to reframe the catastrophic, negative language of the climate battle, into an opportunity for positive change. Cape Farewell exists to change the way we think about climate change – so ArtCop21 is a perfect coming together of our ethos.”
 
Cape Farewell and co-organisers COAL have put together ArtCop21 as a global festival of cultural activity and when they say global, they really mean global. Although the summit will take part in Paris, 479 events have been taking place in 51 countries (with over 45 in the UK) since September and continue until the end of December 2015. It’s mission? To raise awareness and more importantly passion about climate change. “We want to come up with practical solutions of course,” Wood continues, “but we also need to move people to care in the first place. Because denial is a powerful thing. My, perhaps wonky, analogy is that of a parent not bonding with their child; without that love, that oxytocin, then all that a parent has to go through; the sleeplessness, the massive lifestyle transformation, would feel like an impossible task. However, when they bond and are connected, and are given the right support to envision the purpose and linear progression towards something bigger than them– when it is done from love, then those sacrifices feel very different; indeed they may feel like the most productive ‘sacrifice’ they’ve ever made.”
 
“Many people already ‘get’ this,” she continues, “but we still have a long way to go. Again use of language is key here. The incredibly unhelpful and nonsense hangover from the 60’s, the ‘hippy’ is so unhelpful and dichotomizing. I think the phrase that best sums up the new movement is: we are not defending nature, we are nature defending itself.”
 
It’s a potent statement, perhaps all the more so because in the middle of such a vast issue, it is such a direct one. It’s optimistic too, something that marks Cape Farewell; change is possible for all of us Wood is at pains to point out, we just need to realise it’s worth it for all of us. “There is no us or them,” she says. “We are seeking to envision a viable, safer, healthier, more sustainable future and we need to tap into people’s most instinctual love, not just for their planet but indeed for the fellow and future generations in order to flick this switch and truly start this re-imagining and recreating of the future together.”
 
Run Riot sat down with Wood to discuss the ArtCop21 programme, how oil is directly linked to the horrific terrorists attacks in Paris and her own hopes. But most importantly she explains beautifully why “we must stay positive; this challenge is an opportunity for us to build the cleaner, greener, fairer and more sustainable global society we all aspire to. We have the technology and the capability to re-direct financial resources to power this change,” now let’s use it.

 
Run Riot: Can you tell us a little bit about how you programmed ArtCop21?
 
Lucy Wood: In terms of genres or disciplines it’s a broad church (remembering that ‘culture’ really is a product of any two people in a room and encapsulates all the art forms, all the humanities) – so that is why our programme is broad and inclusive with an amazing array of activity from every conceivable discipline – from the haunting Climate Guardians appearing across Paris to the darkly comic concrete poetry of Robert Montgomery, a special film app from Fevered Sleep to a two day rock concert in deepest Arctic circle. We are keen to promote activity that captures the imagination – the amazing person who is cycling across the world to collect 1001 stories of climate change or an immersive theatre production FutureCoast in Brighton where you can leave a voicemail for your future self regarding climate-change – and the amazing relay race running from the Arctic to Paris. I am so inspired by the energy and inventiveness of the millions of people who want to change the world.
 
We also have a whole Action section dedicated to people mobilization events; and whilst sadly the Paris march can’t happen, there are so many other ways to get involved in cities across the UK and worldwide – like the key Climate March on the 29th November.
 
Above all, much of the work is participatory; not an ‘us versus them’ sealed off ‘performance’ where ego takes precedent. Instead you’ll see that the vast majority of the shows and activities, be they installations, workshops, talks and events, are pretty immersive and are as much about involving the audience in the conversation as the speakers, performers and artists.
 
Climate change is too often viewed through a policy or scientific lens, with solutions only discussed behind the closed doors of political offices, boardrooms and negotiating halls and in dry, unemotional, unhuman language at that. ArtCop21 aims to challenge this trope by saying yes, climate is a people problem – not one to be left solely to the politicians. Indeed it is the biggest ‘people’ problem we’ve ever faced.
 
If not us then who? Have been doing vital work involving indigenous people in the fight to protect their own land – we are all in this together - a cliché, but true. As Obama said ‘We are the ones we are waiting for'.
 
What we need is major cultural shift in the way we produce energy, consume, work and ultimately define ourselves and our culture; particularly in relationship to what defines happiness or success.

 
Run Riot: ArtCOP21 is a huge endeavour and looking at the schedule it can seem quite daunting. The key seems to take it one step at a time. What are your personal highlights and what is the one thing you most hope to achieve with this programme?
 
Lucy Wood: Indeed ArtCOP21 has gone viral. Exhibitions, concerts, marches, conferences, workshops, art installations, plays, forums, actions, marches, screenings, guided walks… it’s an amazing and inventive list and I agree, quite a thing to navigate!
 
It’s an insane amount of work – to liaise, promote, upload and market all these events whilst at the same time producing our own events (and running the rest of Cape Farewell’s programme). But sheer commitment, determination and vast amounts of coffee means we are continuing to move with the tide and really capitalise on this momentum; it’s amazing what such a small team can do when you put your mind into it (our team totals six people working across our London office (Cape Farewell) and Paris (COAL).
 
My personal highlight is Cape Farewell’s ArtCop21 flagship installation – which launched in the Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester, last month – ‘Evaporation’ by the amazing Tania Kovats. Responding to the famous scientist James Lovelock’s ‘Gaia’ theory of the planet as an interconnected, super-organism – that the largest creature on Earth is Earth itself. Kovats has produced a show that explores our relationship with the seas and oceans. She literally took three of our major oceans and re-presented them back to the audience in a way which is both stunning and fragile, presenting them as huge ‘bowls’ – alongside which was a globally crowd sourced collection of water from each of the earth’s 200+ seas. The audience is asked to think of our stewardship of the oceans and seas – a subtle, but powerful plea to change our ways. Alongside this was the world premiere of The Wave - a collaborative response to Kovats amazing new work – from BBC Proms 'Gaia Theory' composer Jonathan Dove and 12 insanely talented musicians and performers from the Royal Northern College of Music. The performance was shared with the public throughout the day in a series of rolling performances in the heart of the exhibition space. Audiences were immersed into the sounds and cycles of our most precious commodity - our oceans and seas. We are producing a lovely film of it but do take a quick preview here.

Then of course there’s EARTH CAN YOU HEAR US? - our summit launch party next Monday 30th at London St Pancras International – the gateway to Paris for thousands of delegates. Cape Farewell is hosting a cultural takeover of the station, bringing a host of performances calling for major climate action. We have BBC Radio One DJ Gemma Cairney, the wonderful Marshelese Poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner (who speaks so passionately about her islands – already submerged by climate change and calling urgently that even 2c is not enough), topped off with a headline performance by internationally acclaimed beatboxer Shlomo – who also took part in Cape Farewell's Disko Bay expedition to the Arctic to engage with climate change. The event will also feature a very special vocal surprise act celebrating the power of collaboration and community to bring about positive change, and act as an urgent call to the politicians in Paris to commit to major climate action.

EARTH CAN YOU HEAR US? Is the day after the big climate marches worldwide, the 1st day of the summit and we want to really galvanize and capture all this energy in a major public moment – so if you’re in London, come along from 7pm. Come be part of making climate change history!

Our programme of daily talks at our ArtCop21 hub the Gaite Lyrique (3er, Paris) will be great too – our ‘conference of creative parties’ takes place each afternoon from the 1st – 11th December, and brings together panels of scientists, artists, thinkers, makers and doers to debate key themes around the climate challenge; role of technological innovation, the role of language and art in reframing the climate crisis, a way of rebuilding the commons – a sort of new declaration for the rights of man – in this new era. We have hunters from Greenland coming over to discuss the impact of global warming on their livelihoods – along with their own sleigh and dogs! All events will also be streamed on our website – but if you’re in Paris all events are free, so come along.

Across Paris there are also a series of monumental art installations – including the brilliant CopBox – a special wooden box for citizen journalism that will end up next to the UN Campus in Le Bourget, Paris, during Cop21 – collecting the testimonies of thousands of visitors and natives of Paris.
 

Run Riot: It can be easy to catastrophise climate change. Do you think public perception of the problem is beginning to shift to a more realistic one?
 
Lucy Wood: It’s about finding the right language for it – reframing it as an opportunity, rather than a sacrifice - and not being overwhelmed into denial. In the past 200 years humanity has evolved a highly complex, innovative, politically diverse, economic global culture fuelled by carbon energy. The fact of climate change – the fragile atmosphere that sustains life on our planet cannot support the excessive CO2 we are pumping into it – has moved beyond conjecture to concrete reality. Climate change is the largest crisis humanity has ever faced – or what Sir David King terms ‘not the biggest challenge of our time, it's the biggest challenge of all time’.
 
The reality is that if we don’t act, then yes the outcome could well be catastrophic – indeed it could signal the end of the human journey in the longer term (or certainly rendering our earth completely uninhabitable for a vast majority). But as I mentioned before we need to focus on the opportunities of the shift, not the sacrifices. We need to find a new way to narrate and envision this future that is tangible for people. But our window is small. We must act now.
 
Run Riot: In light of the attack in Paris there are rumbles that some G20 countries are funding Daesh (ISIS) through the oil industry. This seems to link ecological and sociological concerns, a key aim of Cape Farewell. How can we break the walls of silence that surround the West’s role in the funding of these terrorist organisations?
 
Lucy Wood: The ArtCop21 platform is giving a voice to the millions of global citizens who embrace change and seek to build a new future and it is quite simply awful timing that this tragedy has further derailed the most important conversation the world has ever had. Particularly when it’s clear that climate change and terrorism ARE two sides of the same coin. The consequences of climate change, reliance on oil and the ever growing ecological crises are already threatening our resources and exacerbating inequalities and poverty; precisely the conditions that feed these wars and terrorism in the first place.
 
Yes, it’s an extremely complicated situation but I would say it can certainly be linked to big oil - particularly traced back to many of the G20’s relationship with Saudi Arabia and collusion with the Wahhabists. The West’s dependence on fossil fuels has of course had a massive impact on global geo-politics, and brought havoc and violence to those living near the source of oil fields, whether that’s on the African Continent or the Middle East. There are other factors regarding some European countries’ colonial histories, but I am keen not to over-politicise it at this stage. But it’s clear, that yes, Big Oil has a very significant part to play – it’s good to see campaigning groups BP or not to BP and Platform, for example, gaining traction in terms of breaking down big business and the Arts’ collusion with the industry.
 
But moving forward, it’s clear that divesting energy-access back to communities would have a seismic shift on our global power balance, and we must lobby hard to stop this government’s dismantling of the renewable industries. It’s heartbreaking to see solar companies go into administration, and amazing community projects like Balcombe be shelved due to the subsidy cuts. I think that Osborne and co’s knee jerk, woolly headed dislike of ‘green crap’ is completely ideological – and makes absolutely no financial sense. They are getting into bed with nuclear and fracking just at a point when renewables are turning a massive corner and becoming profitable - and yes (unlike some confused UKIP-ers questions), they don’t run out! The billions the taxpayers will be subsidizing Hinckley point – for example – could power Tidal Lagoons planned in the UK (Cape Farewell is the cultural partner of Tidal Lagoon Swansea – which when built can produce 120 years of clean energy) several times over. The success of anti-fracking campaigns like that in Lancaster are inspiring, but with this new regime we have to fight harder and smarter and louder than ever before.

These potentially catastrophic environmental issues affect the future of all humanity, and know no boundaries and no discrimination. We must continue this most important of tasks and we are working with ever greater conviction to spearhead a major global cultural shift; what is needed is nothing short of a revolution.

Lucy Wood, Program Director, ArtCop21, Cape Farewell
@Lucywoodie

ArtCOP21
Now until 31 December 2015 at 50 countries across the globe.
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ArtCOP21 is produced by Cape Farewell (UK) and COAL (France)

Cape Farewell
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COAL
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