Dede's Green Scene: The Creative Climate Awards by Dede Tabak, November 06 2016, 5 Comments

The Creative Climate Awards is an annual event series, organized by the Human Impacts Institute, that showcases artists who are inspired by climate change and the negative impact it’s having on the planet.

The Human Impact Institute was founded by Tara DePorte in 2010 when DePorte saw a need for creative approaches to sustainability. Tara is a visual artist as well, so she understands personally how the creative process can be a tool to raise awareness and inspire audience.

This year marks the fifth annual Creative Climate Awards. The awards started on September 27, 2016 and lasted a month, until October 27. The events included public art works, performance art, live music, dancing and short films. There were also 2D art pieces for sale, from which the proceeds were split between the Human Impacts Institute programs and participating artists. All of the award's happenings were meant to raise awareness about climate change and to inspire people to take action.

Some of the work showcased was a photograph by Anna Borrie called The Plastic Bag Tent--a tent made of recycled bags as a criticism of our throw-away culture. There was also an installation by Mechthild Schmidt Feist, which pointed out the wastefulness we have in our lives. In the installation, Feist offers up one of her possessions in exchange for the viewer's promise to not buy something new. In addition, the awards featured a jazz opera called Mr. Mystery by the Eco-Music Big Bang, in which a band leader/composer comes back to life to save the earth from the apocalypse brought on by global warming.

Because the month-long exhibit and events came to an end on October 27, there was a celebratory Halloween party where attendees dressed in a climate change themed costumes. Hopefully, the Creative Climate Awards inspired others to think more critically about how our actions impact our environment and in turn channels knowledge and the climate change conversation through art to promote action.