Climate Justice - Decarbonise and Decolonise in the Yorkshire & Humber Region

© Sarah Yaccabe

YVAN Statement of Intent

To act in solidarity and harness the voice of the artist and artist-led network leading up to COP26 in Glasgow and beyond, YVAN is setting out a programme of activities on Climate Justice in relationship to de-carbonising and de-colonising.

Our carbon centric economic system is rooted in colonialism and needs addressing. The role of the artist is critical in mobilising change, creating scenarios and dialogue through artful intervention by engaging diverse partners, stakeholders and audiences and moving them into action.

What do artists in the region know from their lived experience of working across institutions and communities that, if offered up collectively, could forge new opportunities whilst challenging institutional stagnation and resistance to the rapid changes that are now required.

YVAN recognises that artists, often as low paid and precarious workers, can be the first and hardest hit.

We understand that climate justice is the moral, social and political side of the climate crisis, and understand that certain communities and minorities will face different and more damaging consequences of climate change sooner than others.

The question we ask of ourselves and the sector is - how does YVAN and the artistic communities in Yorkshire and the Humber embed sustainability as a core principle across our artistic discipline and how do we link this to learning about our colonial past and its hand in creating the climate crisis?

To help you engage in this critical dialogue and make new connections, we have created a calendar of current events from across the region. These have been selected for their focus on the role of the artist in the context of sustainability and climate justice.

We will also have an open submission calendar to collate and promote any events that happen across the region.

If you are interested in sharing a short review of an event, we would love to receive this and will add it to our Climate Justice Archive.