Press Release 2: Community Artivism

Through Community Artivism, WATERFRONTS produced the first three of its nine artworks, working directly with residents of three European coastal communities, Gothenburg (Sweden), Mytilene on Lesvos (Greece) and Bibinje near Zadar (Croatia), to turn local experiences of climate change into shared creative works.

Artivism combines artistic expression with activism. In WATERFRONTS it is used to make complex environmental and emotional issues more accessible, and to give a voice to people who are often left out of decision-making, including young people, refugees, people with disabilities and low-income and rural residents.

Across the three sites, the project reports approximately 91 direct participants, who took part in structured workshops, collaborative walks and hands-on creative sessions, and an estimated 450 further people reached indirectly through public exhibitions. The three works are:

The three Community Artivism works

•  FORM, COLOR & EMOTIONS by Darja Nordberg and Martina Claesson, in Gothenburg, Sweden. Through participatory workshops at the Omställningslabbet maker-space, participants linked emotions such as hope, anxiety and balance to colours and forms. The project records around 25 direct contributors and an audience of about 200.

•  EIKOLOGIA (EIKΟΛΟΓΙΑ) by Gen Daquinan, in Mytilene, Lesvos, Greece. Across nine photography workshops, young people from low-income and rural backgrounds explored their everyday lives and surroundings with cameras. The project records around 30 young participants and about 100 people reached indirectly.

•  BETWEEN TIMEFRAMES by Anđela Bugarija, in Bibinje, near Zadar, Croatia. The work drew on the memories and images of Bibinje, engaging residents from youth to older people, including people with disabilities, in intergenerational storytelling. The project records around 36 direct contributors and about 150 people reached indirectly.

Together, the three works show how collaborative artistic processes can turn environmental challenges into shared narratives and expressions of care for place. They also laid the groundwork for the next stage of the project, the Blue Residency, and fed into its policy recommendations and public awareness campaign.

Find out more: Report on Community Artivism 

Media enquiries

For interviews and images, please contact the WATERFRONTS project team via https://www.waterfronts.site/contact. Images are available on request.