Cape Farewell: Art and Climate Change March 15, 2010

Created by artist David Buckland in 2001, Cape Farewell has lead five expeditions to the High Arctic, the frontline of climate change. From these expeditions has sprung an extraordinary body of artwork: a film co-produced by the BBC, Art from the Arctic; Cape Farewell's first major book title, Burning Ice; educational resources for GCSE; a UN award-winning website; and the exhibition 'Cape Farewell: Art & Climate Change.' The project is widely acknowledged to be the most significant sustained artistic response to climate change anywhere in the world. The exhibition, which makes its North American premiere at Cranbrook, brings together specially-commissioned work from the artists who have voyaged with Cape Farewell on the 100 year-old sailing schooner, The Noorderlicht. Inspired by the work of the on-board climate scientists and having experienced the effects of climate change in this cruel but fragile environment, each of the artists has responded in a unique way. Science informs us that the health of our planet is in decline, but understanding and communicating these changes may demand another approach. Through images, sound, sculpture, dance and the power of the word these artworks express the wonder of nature together with the drama of destruction. The common message they share is that we mourn the loss of our decaying environment, but are inspired to change the way we live in a bid to save it.