Living Labs - THE ART OF ADAPTATION, COMMUNICATION AND EDUCATION

Toi Mahi Tahi: A Workshop in Arts, Adaptation, Climate Change and Transdisciplinary Approaches 

Location: New Brighton Surf Life Saving Club
Date: Thursday, 16 October
Time: 9.30am – 5pm
Cost: $45
Maximum numbers: 35
Details: Depart Town Hall at 9.30am for a half hour drive to New Brighton. You will return by 5pm. A packed lunch will be provided.

Co-hosts:
Professor Susan Ballard. Art Writer, Art History and Environmental Humanities, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. https://people.wgtn.ac.nz/susan.ballard

Professor Rebecca Priestley. Writer, Science in Society, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. https://people.wgtn.ac.nz/rebecca.priestley

Dr Mark Harvey. Artist, University of Auckland. https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/m-harvey

This Living Lab—Toi mahi tahi—foregrounds and explores the contribution and potential of the creative arts in relation to climate change mitigation and adaptation. 

The Living Lab will be a fun and engaging workshop that brings together conference attendees with local artists, writers and journalists, to focus on collective actions and creative projects (including collaborative research outputs created on the day) on the topic of adaptation and creating change. 

Using transdisciplinary methodologies from within the environmental humanities and creative arts we will meet kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face) at the New Brighton Surf Life Saving Club a short bus ride from the conference venue, beside the sand dunes that line the rising seas of the Pacific Ocean. We will take time to reflect on the themes of the conference before working to generate new creative responses. 

Informing this lab is a broad range of perspectives from the arts, and environmental humanities. We draw from insights around how the creative arts can engage with environmental perspectives through eco-critical public pedagogies, ecological pedagogies of embodied attunement, and eco-dialogic pedagogies (see Harvey et al. 2024). 

The goal of the Living Lab is to learn from each other’s methodologies and generate something that would last beyond the timeframe of the conference, engage audiences with unconventional creative outputs from the conference, and make international connections with other academics who – like us – have both a writing or making practice and a focus on environmental issues. 

We will scaffold participants through our multi-dimensional approach into creating material that responds to and reflects on themes around climate change from their standpoints. We will use Māori influence methods (Smith, 1999) such as whakawhanaungatanga and mana-enhancing teaching and collaborating, along with Western influenced workshopping approaches. Generating creative material that invites reflection around how we can adapt and adjust to climate change is an intention in this lab. Exploring how the creative arts can be pivotal around this theme as an agent of change is another goal. 

Entry is limited to 35 people only, on application. We will prioritise applications from mana whenua, tangata whenua, and Moana Pasifika scholars. Participants should apply with a brief summary of their interest in the role of arts in transdisciplinary understandings of adaption futures (100 words), plus a brief summary of their own experience or practice: this might include fiction/ nonfiction/ journalistic/ or scientific writing; or other arts-based creative and critical practices; or, collaborative work with artists and writers (100 words). The aim is to engage with, and be inclusive of a wide range of practices and knowledges, so if your experience or practice falls outside those listed here, please feel free to articulate this.

References:

Ballard, S., & Saunders, J. (2022). “Art Writing and Coastal Change: Story-Telling in the Blue Economy.” GeoHumanities, 8(2), 462–481. https://doi.org/10.1080/2373566X.2022.2094280

Harvey, M., Mullen, M., Waipara, N., Jerram, S., Craig-Smith, A., and McBride, C. (2023). “Toi Taiao Whakatairanga: Tukanga: Processes of Navigating the Interface between Art Curation/Research, Forest Ecologies and Māori Perspectives.” Knowledge Cultures, 11(1), 115–136. https://doi.org/10.22381/kc11120237

Priestley, R. (2022) “Coming Soon to a Beach Near You: The Incoming Tide of Meltwater” Griffith Review, 77. https://www.griffithreview.com/articles/coming-soon-to-a-beach-near-you/

Smith, L. T. (2021) Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. London: Bloomsbury.

Please bring a water bottle. 

How do we get mass behavioural change for transformational climate adaptation 

Location: University of Canterbury
Date: Thursday, 16 October
Time: 9.30am – 4.30pm
Cost: $45
Maximum numbers: 50
Details: Depart Town Hall at 9.30am for a short  drive to University of Canterbury. You will return by 4.30pm. A packed lunch will be provided.

Leaders: 
Cushla Loomb, Beca Limited
Tania Hyde, Beca Limited

This Living Lab offers a dynamic and immersive experience that actively engages individuals in pioneering climate adaptation solutions, by offering a practical platform to engage directly with adaptation strategies - blending creativity with action. Designed to align with the conference’s overarching theme of Accelerating Adaptation Action, it provides a unique opportunity to explore Behaviour change needed for transformational climate adaptation. By harnessing the transformative capacity of art—whether visual, performance, or digital—participants can communicate complex climate challenges in accessible, compelling ways, to spark meaningful conversations, increase awareness and education to inspire new pathways for climate resilience. The Living Lab will take place at the University of Canterbury, where space will be created for participants to spend the day working through the five activities. The format for the event is to take participants through facilitated stations which cover:

• Welcome and Context Setting – sharing compelling stories to create emotive urgency.
• Challenge and Urgency - role-play community decision-making processes through the NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research) serious game (Township Flood Challenge) to foster collective action.
• Co-design for System Shift - collaborate on innovative solutions to foster collective action through a circular design workshop
• Innovative Solutions – using the arts, communication and education to inspire behaviour change and mindset shift.
• Reflections – to surface learnings, share experience and reinforce hope to shape their ongoing work.

Participants should be prepared for a high level of energy and engagement with the one location.

Please bring a water bottle. 

Sculpting Penguins: Hands on creative project as a novel educational tool

Location: Christchurch/ Ōtautahi
Date: Thursday, 16 October
Time:  9.30am –12.30pm
Cost: $90
Maximum numbers: 12
Details: Depart Town Hall at 9.30am for a short drive to the Climate Action Campus. You will return by 12.30pm.

Leaders:
Nikki Wallace-Bell - Nikki WB Ceramics
Nicholas Kirk - Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research

Conference participants will create their own unique sculptures of New Zealand’s indigenous kororā (White Flippered Penguin) while learning about the challenges these unique birds face due to climate change. Kororā are an endemic species of Banks Peninsula with some living in nearby Te Whakaraupō (Lyttelton Harbour). During the workshop participants will learn about the impact of climate change on penguin health and habitat, as well as the positive outcomes from recent wildlife conservation and pest control initiatives in Te Whakaraupō. This sculpting workshop – facilitated by local artist Nikki Wallace-Bell - will provide conference participants with a tangible object they have created that they can, if they wish, take home as a reminder of the resilience, adaptability and sensitivity of New Zealand’s indigenous and unique wildlife to climate change. It will also highlight the role of art and sculpting in education about environmental issues and wildlife adaptation measures. During the workshop, participants will also learn about local indigenous flora and fauna and actions being taken in Te Whakaraupō to protect this taonga.

You will need a cloth apron. This can be provided if requested.  Please bring a covered drink bottle or a reusable cup, as you cannot eat or drink from open containers while using clay. If you wish to have your sculpture turned into a statue, this will incur a cost. The sculptures require three weeks to set and require two firings per piece (one bisque the other glaze). There’s also an additional cost to send  the complete statues back to you. Packaging and mailing costs are approximately $35 if sent to New Zealand addresses (the cost will be higher if they are to be sent overseas).

The adaptation adventure: A comic book installation for climate storytelling

Location: Spark Place, Tūranga Library (Ground Floor), Christchurch/ Ōtautahi
Date: Thursday, 16 October
Time:  10.00am –11.30am
Maximum numbers: 40
Details: Walk to Spark Place, Tūranga Library for a 10am beginning.  

Leaders:
Jubeena Judi Joe  - visual artist and designer at the Indian Institute of Forest Management
Elphin Tom Joe  - PhD student

There is often so much technical jargon when having to explain or understand climate adaptation research with many nuances which if missed would lead to misunderstanding. This Living Lab is focused on reducing the difficulty of communicating technical concepts of adaptation to the larger public and seeks to use comic book storytelling to achieve this. You will be provided with physical and digital copies of comic books so that you are immersed in a different communication medium that has not been used substantially yet. We will provide you with a space for interaction and feedback that will generate interest in utilizing such a medium for your own work. You will be able to register to receive your materials in the future as digital copies for use in your own organizations or research.

Printed comic book copies will be available for you to read and submit feedback on. Additionally, there will be posters and sketches available for viewing and feedback. Digital copies can be accessed by all participants through a QR code for download and use under the creative commons copyright license. You are expected to freely explore and interact with the materials available and this is not guided. You will be given adhesive notes and a feedback wall to share your thoughts on the experience. Based on the feedback received the comics will be further improved and as a participant you will receive a copy of the improved material as a digital copy to your email.

Aims and expected outcomes:

• Introducing climate adaptation concepts through a fun and engaging format by using comic storytelling 
• Encourage discussion among participants on the utility of such a format for their own work
• Gather valuable participant feedback for improving the material and providing the material digitally to registered participants

This creative performance Living Lab aims to provide a visually rich interactive space where participants can engage in their own pace. Comics have been a very useful tool for ages to break down complex technical concept to easily understandable content for assimilation. With a dedicated space creating a relaxed environment for reflection and honest feedback on the material created this will be a wonderful experience.