A research-art catalogue on climate action

Around the world, individuals and groups are rallying to draw attention to the climate emergency. Curated by Dr. Pauline Sameshima, professor in the Faculty of Education, and Robin Faye, One Cell, The World is a research-art catalogue on climate action from the Lakehead Galleries featuring essays, poetry, art, videos, music, and more, from diverse communities on the climate crisis.

One Cell, The World includes a keynote speech by Seth Klein on how we might mobilize climate action at a university level and essays as diverse as the role of salt in bio alcohols, to native species gardening. Select artworks respond to the floods in British Columbia, water resources in Lake Superior, and ocean surges in Ayetoro, Nigeria. A cello piece was created using NASA global climate data.

Local and international, the selected works demonstrate the possibilities for what climate action can look like. They contain insights and inspiration for climate activists, artists, educators, and policy makers; as well as for all those who care about the planet.

Reviews:

One Cell, the World highlights how arts through research can beautifully raise awareness of climate change and social justice. -- Dr. Andrew Dean, Lakehead University Vice-President Research and Innovation

I like it! A lot! Curriculum specialists need ways to re-form the mind with the languages of the body and the heart. This book invites that work with mind-bending beauty. I just want to gaze more deeply into it. -- Dr. David Greenwood, Canada Research Chair in Environmental Education (2010-2020), Lakehead University

It is inspiring to see in this work the tremendous potential of the arts to express such poignant and ingenious responses to the climate crisis. It is also inspiring to sense such heartfelt and passionate care for our planet. -- Dr. Benjamin Bolden, UNESCO Chair in Arts and Learning

This book of many voices calls into sight the compassionate climate healing we seek with compelling focus on the urgency. Chosen change is first imagined. -- Heather McLeod, podcaster of Something Different This Way Comes, Thunder Bay, Ontario

This book invites us to reflect on the interconnectedness of the climate crisis through a variety of perspectives, centring us back into humility, reciprocity, and oneness. Through the lens of artists, activists, and actions this collection left me feeling grateful and hopeful for our future and reminded of the vastness of solutions that are before us. --Madison Dyck, Activist, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Strengthening emotional connections to our natural surroundings and other beings has never been more critical. As the climate crisis continues to mount, we must come to terms with a lot of complex feelings (e.g., fear, anxiety, guilt)—and we can’t do it alone. For all these reasons and more, we need art. When I look at the collection of artworks in this catalogue, I feel a sense of hope and inspiration, that we’re all in this together. These artworks not only stimulate critical thinking around climate issues, but also illustrate how art can be a catalyst for real and enduring change. I am excited to bring this collection into my classroom! -- Dr. Tiina Kukkonen, Assistant Professor of Visual Arts Education, Arts Research Collective, Queens University

This book makes me stop and pause for reflection. The climate crises are changing our psyches. I am moved by the depth of emotions evident in the artistic expressions and the ideas that emerge. There are connections on many levels. -- Graham Saunders, Climatologist, Lakehead University

More information can be found here. One Cell, The World is also available through local and online bookstores.