A Climate for Art

An episode of the Earth Matters podcast, hosted by Mia Audrey, Jacina Leong, Zena Cumpston, titled "A Climate for Art" was published on January 11, 2026.

January 11, 2026 · Earth Matters

Summary

The climate crisis is a crisis of imagination; we are stuck in a web of stories about what’s possible. But voices outside the web are picking at the knots, opening other ways of being through different, older stories. This is the work of artists. And while you may not know it from how your tax dollars are spent, artists are a lifeline for our world in crisis.  Enter A Climate for Art (ACFA): a collective of artists, arts workers and organisations intent on mobilising their sector for climate action. This show features two recordings from a Symposium hosted by ACFA—in partnership with Next Wave, City of Melbourne, George Paton Gallery and Climate Action Network Australia—which together give a glimpse of how our biggest imaginations are responding to the climate crisis.Zena Cumpston is a Barkandji woman with Afghan, Irish and English heritage. Zena works as an artist, writer, researcher, curator and consultant and currently resides in Narrm/melbourne. Dr. Jacina Leong 梁玉明 is an artist-curator, educator and researcher whose practice engages with the intersections of community engagement, care ethics and curatorial inquiry. Currently living in Narrm/Melbourne, and working across cultural and educational spaces since 2008, her work considers how creative practices and organisations can respond to the converging crises of our time. https://www.aclimateforart.com.au/https://leifjustham.com/ Earth Matters #1538 was produced by Mia Audrey on Yuin Nation country.

Episode Description