Climate Conversations | Local Chats, Global Impact
Regional Arts WA
Artists in Western Australia’s regions understand viscerally that climate change is already reshaping our present. They see it in the changing patterns of seasonal rains, in the shifting behaviours of native species, and in the subtle transformations of landscapes that have been home to stories for millennia.
This profound connection between art and environment came alive spectacularly in March at the Margaret River HEART on Wadandi Boodja. As part of our Thrive! Framework’s commitment to climate adaptation and resilience, Regional Arts WA and Arts Margaret River co-hosted a thought-provoking conversation expertly facilitated by WA Climate Leaders’ Meri Fatin. Artist Sky River’s ‘Marri Tree Girl’ production emerged as the catalyst for the conversation —a four-year creative journey that weaves together folklore, masterful puppetry, and ancient Wadandi storytelling. Sky highlighted urgent environmental threats to local Marri trees, bringing to life the impact of the Marri Canker fungal disease.
This creative momentum carried through to Albany later in the month, where young voices took centre stage. Southern Edge Arts’ ‘Traps and Ladders’ project saw WA’s next generation of artists tackle environmental challenges head-on. Their incredible performance around the restoration of Miaritch Oyster Harbour demonstrated problems, solutions and sparked conversations about their local waters.
None of this vital work happens in isolation. Through our Regional Arts Network, supported by visionary partners like Minderoo Foundation, The Ian Potter Foundation, and the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund, we’re creating spaces where artists, scientists, Elders, and community members can come together. These gatherings exemplify our Thrive! Framework’s focus on peer-to-peer learning and community wellbeing, fostering sustainable practices and building career pathways for future generations.
The conversations are incubators for hope, catalysts for action, and powerful evidence that art isn’t just documenting climate change—it’s helping us process it, understand it, and imagine new ways forward.
Watch
We’ve been sharing these inspiring stories across our social media channels, with our community responding enthusiastically to the intersection of art and environmental action.
Albany Local Conversation – Facebook short video
Albany Local Conversation Instagram short video
Albany Art & Climate Conversation (full length video):
Summary: SEA (Southern Edge Arts) and Regional Arts WA facilitated a fascinating panel discussion at the Albany Town Hall that brought together artists, scientists, and young performers to explore how art can transform the climate conversation from despair to hope.
The centrepiece of the conversation was the project ‘Traps and Ladders,’ a unique dance production that tells the remarkable story of Oyster Harbour’s environmental recovery through the perspective of fish, seagrass, and other natural elements.
The conversation revealed how this creative approach to climate storytelling, bridged the gap between scientific knowledge and creating an emotional narrative for audiences. Young performers shared how the project helped them process their climate anxiety while learning about tangible environmental success in their own backyard.
The recording of this discussion is available below. It demonstrates how local stories can inspire global hope and how the collaboration between artists, scientists, and community members is generating environmental engagement and healing.
Local Conversation Albany: Art, Climate & Culture
Margaret River Art & Climate Conversation (full length video):
Summary: At the Arts Margaret River and Regional Arts WA event at the Margaret River HEART, Artists, scientists, and Indigenous knowledge-keepers came together to discuss our relationship with the natural world.
The catalyst for the conversation was the Marri Tree Girl puppetry production, a science fiction tale that managed to be both fable-like and scientifically moving. It told the story of a part-human, part-tree child navigating a world where humans had sealed themselves off from nature, told through hand crafted puppets and informed by environmental science. The story also served as a metaphor for our own isolation from the natural world, and how that separation might be our undoing.
The resulting discussion showcased how art, informed by rigorous scientific research about the local Marri Canker disease affecting our South West forests, could communicate complex environmental issues in an accessible and emotionally resonant way.
The full recording of this remarkable conversation is available to watch online, featuring artists, scientists, and First Nations Elders coming together to discuss climate change through the lens of art and storytelling.
