A handbook of reactive eco-crisis art practice offers tips and tools for art activism 

Act now! 

Our guide to reactive eco-crisis art practice is freely available to all and can be download from the websites of the Association of Finnish Children’s Cultural Centres and Young Visual Art (Nuori Taide). The guide is available in Finnish and English  

The guide seeks to offer ways to channel the frustration and anxiety brought about by the eco-crisis and to harness the desire to do something that makes a difference, using art activism. Users of the handbook are prompted to engage with the phenomena surrounding eco-crisis actively, creatively, and critically. 

The guide leads us towards art practice through questions and reflection. It can be used in a wide range of contexts with diverse groups, indoors, outside and in online environments. The guide lends itself to short courses and intensive courses as well as longer programmes. The objective is to create art that is responsive and impactful – artworks that change how we think about eco-crisis and how we respond, both creators themselves and audiences who encounter the artworks. 

Through small actions we can make a big impact 

What’s important in art is innovation and ideas. Preparation is less important than planning, insight and effective teamwork. Social media channels provide a wonderful opportunity to publish your artwork and achieve visibility and impact. 

Our guide to reactive eco-crisis art practice does not teach art techniques, offer ready-made workshop plans, or provide the latest statistics on the local and global effects of this era of eco-crisis. Rather, it encourages the reader to draw on the knowledge, skills, understanding, and experiences of participants to create a strong, powerful work of art for their own world. 

The key thing is working with your own skills and knowledge. Projects are encouraged to involve local artists and eco-crisis specialists so we can work together and bring about change for a better tomorrow. 

A workshop during International Week at Humak 

The Guidebook for Reactive Eco-crisis Art Practice was put into practice in a training programme organised by Humak University of Applied Sciences during International Week at a Finnish camp centre surrounded by nature. There, a group of 30 Finnish, Belgian and German students was divided into three groups. Each group planned and produced a work of eco-crisis art in a workshop organised by Young Visual Art. The works were photographed and filmed and published on the Young Visual Art Instagram account. The three-hour workshop also included a brief introduction to the guide and the methods it offers. 

The workshop began with the knowledge and skills participants brought with them and was conducted with respect for nature, working with the environment on its own terms. Our art supplies were the things we found in the surrounding forest or items participants had with them. 

The reactive eco-crises artworks can be found on the Young Visual Art (Nuori Taide) Instagram account and via the hashtag #ReactiveEcoCrisisArt. Share your own eco-crisis art with the same hashtag. 

The YLTA: Youth Learning through Art project 2021-2022  

Youth Learning Through Art was an international two-year project in Finland, Slovenia and Poland. The project was coordinated by the Association of Finnish Children’s Cultural Centres. The Finnish Nature Association and the Art Centre for Children and Young People were also involved. Each of the participating countries held two art workshops for young people. Training sessions were organized for art educators and youth leaders. 

The project saw professionals from the youth and arts sector join young people in co-creating methods and tools that could be applied in youth work to help address issues and questions important to young people. The theme of the Finnish sessions was environmental art. 

The Art Centre for Children and Young People organised pilot workshops for young people at the Finnish Nature Association, contributed to the international YLTA training and produced a handbook for environmental art and art activism. Artist and researcher Sonja Salomäen was invited by the Art Centre for Children and Young People to participate in the project and the youth pilot workshops and the handbook are based on her development work.

Publication in finnish: https://lastenkulttuuri.fi/menetelmaopas/opas-reaktiiviseen-ekokriisi-taidetyoskentelyyn/

In English: https://lastenkulttuuri.fi/menetelmaopas/guide-book-for-reactive-eco-crisis-art-practise/

Author Elina Katara.