Culture Night was a couple of weeks ago. An annual public event across the whole island of Ireland. It ‘celebrates culture, creativity and the arts and seeks to actively promote the belief that this rich and varied culture is alive, treasured and nurtured in people’s lives, today and every day’.

Ireland has a rich cultural heritage. For example the art of story telling is deeply woven into the fabric of Ireland. We have a heritage of writers, playwrights and poets. Producing some of the world’s literary greats like James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, and Roddy Doyle (to name but a tiny handful). Our creative culture create a rich tapestry of theatre, music, ensembles and other visual media.

Though of course culture and the craft of story telling is not just an Irish trait… it is a creative quality found across the globe. There are creative minds and strong powerful voices everywhere. There are cultural visionaries all over the world – after all people is what makes culture.

Culture is People
People are Culture

The theme for Culture Night 2021 was ‘Come Together Again‘. So let’s take this opportunity to come together to visualise a new culture. A culture that takes into consideration where we are now (climate wise), and where we would like to be in the future (sustainability wise). Let us come together and craft a new story. A new global culture. A culture of TOGETHERNESS.

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Ecological artist and curator Ashleigh Downey invites you to come together to create a new cultural vision, through an online exhibition called CLIMATE CULTURE. Open to everyone (not just artists) interested in creating a new culture focused on sustainability.
For further details on this CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS click here

With the current climate crisis in mind
what does it actually mean to come together?

A note from the curator:
Across the world it is people who create culture; a rich tapestry of wonder and delight.
Yet across the globe it is people who have also been the major players in unravelling the wonders of our natural world. For the most part it is humans who have created the climate crisis. We have created what many scientists have called the Anthropocene Epoch. We have, whether consciously or not, created a culture of natural chaos.

In this current state of climate chaos it is time to refocus our energy towards creating a new culture. Towards creating new traditions; drawing upon a deep inner wisdoms to create a new way of living. Bringing forth the beauty of the past, amending the destruction of the present, and together weaving a new climate conscious culture.

Culture encompasses the past, the present and the future. It includes heritage and tradition. Culture also included creativity and innovation. Around the world people from all walks of life are exploring how we can preserve, expand and share our cultural knowledge and resources.

To build endurance, and in order to create a sustainable future for all culture most remain relevant and embrace change. I believe we need to open ourselves to new ways of being – a new dynamic culture. Through a proposed online exhibition CLIMATE CULTURE I invite you all to expand your own cultural consciousness, and tap into your imagination and wisdom. I invite you to come together to explore possibilities for a new kind of culture.

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According to the Cambridge dictionary ‘come together’ means ‘to start working successfully with each other’. The Macmillan dictionary defines it as ‘to start to be good or effective because different parts are combining well’. It also presents a second definition, ‘if people or groups come together, they meet or join in order to do something’.

In terms of coming together to create a more sustainable world for ourselves, these definitions could also be extended to include a coming together in SOLIDARITY with all human life regardless of our cultural differences. A coming together during this time of climate crisis in a way that ensures a JUST TRANSITION for all.

Loving all People Regardless of Race, Creed, or Color

James L. Delk

In my opinion COMING TOGETHER in solidarity also means never forgetting the inclusion of nature into this idea of unified togetherness. To develop the means for a just transitions we must consider nature as a vital part of the equation. After all ‘humans = nature’.

As we know natural ecosystems across the globe are being destroyed and degraded at a rate much faster than they can replenish themselves. Sadly the main cause of so much of this devastation is human activity. According to a March 2021 summery by The World Wide Fund for Nature, Just transitions towards a nature-positive economy : Learning from stories of change, ‘Human activities, in particular the way we produce food, are pushing earth’s natural systems to the brink of collapse and increasing the frequency of zoonotic diseases….Reversing nature loss requires transformative change across economies’.

TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE means doing things differently. Not a continuation of the status quo. Not maintaining life (society) as we know it. Nor does it mean getting back to ‘normality’. It means doing things a completely different way. Reviewing our cultures and our beliefs. Redesigning all our systems so that they place nature as central – at the very heart. Creating new sustainable systems that views human life as an interconnect part of the natural world.

It is time to redirect our values, to step beyond our unsustainable ways of being. It is time to do away with combative behaviour in favour of compromise and collaboration. Again I repeat the phrase – It is time to create a UNIFIED TOGETHERNESS.

Towards a sustainable future: transformative change and post-COVID-19 priorities. A Perspective by EASAC’s Environment Programme, 29th October 2020

A future that respects all people from all nations.
A future that regards all life equally important.
A future that honours our nature world.

In 1987, the United Nations Brundtland Commission defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Culture Transformation

a philosophical, practical and strategic process to effect revolutionary change.  

With the above in mind, I invite you to come together in revolutionary change. I invite you to bring forth your voice and creative expressions in consideration of a new potential culture. This call out is open to everyone interested in creating a new culture focused on sustainability: writers, musicians, philosophers, architects, scientists, educators, artists, concerned citizens, and all those in between… Together we can create a more sustainable future for all.
I look forward to receiving all your submissions for CLIMATE CULTURE.
For CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS details click here

Sincerely, Ashleigh xx
(Founder of Greenhouse Culture)
Climate Ambassador & Climate Reality Leader

This project is presented in collaboration with An Taisce Climate Ambassador Programme