More 350

Here’s my attempt at 350 – some images that I made on my way to Uni in Thursday morning. A small gesture, but if mine is one of thousands, or even millions, that adds up to something – right?

Get involved, its pretty simple! For some inspiration visit the gallery at 350 org

Maybe you could make some art:

What do you get when you mix the arts and activism? Artivism!

With the International Day of Climate Action only a week away, now is the perfect time to start building some creative visuals for you action. You’ve been planning your action, making phone calls and having meetings: now is the time to have some fun, and get into the “hands-on” part of creating an action. The plan: organize an “Art Build”. Call your friends, or round up some local youth and set a time to spend 3 hours making art for your action. It doesn’t matter if you have 2 people or 20, we’ve got a few simple tricks that will help you make your action louder, more colorful, and more fun. A little art goes a long way! Fun events such as this are also great ways to strengthen your action community, and to get more and more people involved. You can even invite the press, and get some coverage before your action even starts.

There are lots of ways to get creative, and each day we receive new photos with all sorts of wonderful ideas. We’ve got a few things on our site that can help you, step by step, with the logisitics of making art for your action. Look at a few of the following pages, and let them spark your imagination. A good place to start is to make a banner for your action, this can appear front and center in your action photo: so everyone knows what your message is. You can create t-shirts for your action using these great stencils, or you can make headbands using potato prints. The possiblities are endless… Want to get some theater involved? Check out this script for a short skit that can be done quickly with groups of any age. Want to put some movement into this movement?  Look no further than this great idea for a dance performance. Don’t be afraid to push your limits – its all for the good of the climate movement.

Looking for more ideas? Check out our Spread the Word page for even more tips on how to create hand-made posters to advertise for your event, cardboard hats, instruments made out of garbage, and other fun ideas to get your action to stand out in a crowd. We are a vibrant, colorful and diverse global movement, lets show that to the world! Become an artivist today!

Or get involved in someone else’s action. Check out the actions that are happening near you. In Hobart, there are several events happening, including a plant collage at the Botanic Gardens, a procession on the waterfront, and the 350 photo challenge.

To find out and register to attend an event, search the map at 350.org

View Actions at 350.org

 

Passionate People Think Better (more on Creativity)

I have finally signed up to Twine. Now I get a daily digest of inspirational and interesting articles in my inbox. From the human brain to art, from information systems to sustainable living, every day my life is a little more enriched by the wonderful words and images that I find on Twine.

Today Twine pointed me towards Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk on why schools kill creativity. I had seen it before, and watching it again, I wondered why I didn’t pay more attention the first time. Its fantastic!

Sir Ken talks about the public education system as an invention of the nineteenth century, designed to meet the needs of the Industrial Age. To make sure you become a Good Worker. The most successful output of this system is a University lecturer. After all, as he points out, the hierarchy of subjects starts with Mathematics and Languages at the top, through Humanities to Art at the bottom.

The problem is that there are now more University graduates than there ever have been before, ever. When once a Bachelor degree would land you that fabulous job, academic inflation has caused degrees to be worth so little that a Masters has become an entry point, and a PHD equivalent to a Masters.

Like Sir Ken Robinson I truly believe that developing a capacity for creativity actually causes better thinking and more passionate people. It is such a relief to stop feeling alone in this!

Late last year, after fifteen years in the workforce, I resigned from a good job, started a little business with my sister and embarked on my second degree, a (Bachelor of Fine Arts at UTAS).

I have long felt that I am very effective in my work when I am also actively pursuing my passion. By developing my creativity I will be able to bring new abilities and skills into the workplace, my home, my community. In that scenario, everyone wins!