Community of Hope is a new exhibition showcasing an array of creative visual responses to the climate crisis and demonstrating the process of artists bearing witness to this extraordinary moment in human history. Developed by curators Laura Ribbons and Dominic Head as a way of building on 2021’s acclaimed online exhibition It’s What We Do Next, and furthering conversations had in the wake of COP26, it’s fitting perhaps that Community of Hope opens the day that COP27 comes to a close.
Being passionate environmentalists, both curators feel strongly that not enough is being done to combat the climate crisis. What unites all artists in this exhibition is the understanding that creatives have a vital role to play in the climate movement. Art is and always has been a record of our times, part of the role of the artist is to bear witness to current events, to use art to
provoke conversations around challenging topics and to utilise creative spaces as a testing ground for ideas and solutions. Essentially our response to this crisis must traverse disciplines and be inclusive across our communities.
The exhibition’s title Community of Hope comes from a song by musician PJ Harvey, but contrary to the song’s origin, it strongly reflects the curators’ aims for this exhibition; that it be one that enables people to come together, participate in events and discussions, and that in what are increasingly difficult times, we can find hope. The idea of cultivating hope can almost be seen as a radical act at this stage, but it is the essential component to enable positive change.
The exhibition guides us through Camilla Brendon’s immersive kelp forests – suspended from the gallery ceiling and swaying gently in the air currents, to Danielle Banks’ tree drawings – transplanted from their Glaswegian home and taking us back to the site of last year’s climate conference – offering an alternative reading of the city of Glasgow. Meanwhile, Ngadi Smart’s striking photo-collages take us all the way to Sierra Leone. As part of her project ‘Wata Na Life’ (‘water is life’) in collaboration with WaterAid, these works explore the importance of water to the people of Sierra Leone, whilst acknowledging and celebrating their individual identities and experiences, in marked contrast to historically damaging narratives and tropes of ‘poverty porn’.
Elsewhere, Plantaphilia collective (Paula Turmina and Iria Suarez) show us plants as we have never seen them before, in their pulsating, vivid and hypnotic films, their subject matter appears like alien species. These sit pleasingly with Laura Ribbons’ bold suspended paintings which further contemplate the resilience of plants in the wake of the climate crisis. Dominic Head directly engages with gallery visitors, in his interactive multi-sited pieces, while Christina Peake’s brand-new sculptural installations take us back to the sea. Finally, Nicola Willis’ gorgeously meditative works demonstrate the process of creating in such chaotic times and how art can be used as a tool to contemplate the world and to live with it, in spite of the challenges we face.
Throughout its run the exhibition will play host to talks and workshops for the local community, including artist panel discussions, and Camilla Brendon’s fabulous Kelp& Critters workshop. We invite and encourage all members of the Bristol community and beyond to join us at these events and to come along and be part of the conversation and get involved.
Despite the volatility of the current environmental, socio-political and economic situation, this exhibition is pursuing and revelling in the possibility of hope, joy and the power of collective change. We hope you will join us!