This was the question from a 12 year old school student interviewing Professor Tavi Murray for his school project, which gave birth to the Climate Lab project.
Climate Lab Swansea (‘Seeing and ‘Feeling’ Future Sea-Level Rise) took place on 18th and 31st of March 2022 at Swansea University, funded by a NERC discipline-hopping grant. It was a pilot, facilitated by Fern Smith and Marega Palser of Emergence, to try out ideas and creative techniques for climate scientists, engineers, and artists to explore what they feel about their work in this time of unprecedented change. There were ten participants from across Swansea University. The creative responses by the artists Emily Hinshelwood, Tanya Syed, and Marega Palser are shown below.
The pilot led to a third, related lab in July 2022, funded by Swansea University, in which we ‘widened the circle’ by inviting people who work in climate-related roles beyond the university (for example from Natural Resources Wales, Arts Councils Wales and National Parks) to join participants from the original workshops. In this third Lab, the creative responses (below) were used as catalysts for cross-organisational, cross-disciplinary conversations.
“Sea levels Rising”, postcard artwork by Marega Palser.
Words and responses from participants working with climate change and sea level rise. A performance response to Climate Lab by Marega Palser. See also “A DUST THAT”S KNOWN NO WIND“, part of another project but also related.
“Blueprints” by Emily Hinshelwood, artwork co-produced using scientists words on their feelings about climate change.