Shakti is part of eARTh, an initiative to inspire climate action through art, by providing knowledge inputs and support with India Climate Collaborative is a knowledge partner. CSTEP launched the eARTh Initiative in October 2023, at Bangalore bringing art to the heart of climate action. The event brought together scientists, artists, conservationists, and citizens to explore how art and science can meet to trigger a positive change for the planet. The objective of the eARTh Initiative is to build a community/collective of artists and communicators to highlight the climate crisis in an accessible manner to trigger climate action. An artist collective to mentor young artists and a climate fellowship for students are also in the works.
About eARTh:https://shaktifoundation.in/focus/earth-our-planet-our-art-our-ideas/
After a detailed selection process four mentors were selected. Applications were invited by the mentors, and after a detailed selection process, selected 5 fellows for the project. The fellowship is exploring Poetry and Performance; Music and Presentation; Visual Art and Communication; and Multimedia and Storytelling.
A 3-day session was organised in Bengaluru from February 14-16, 2024 with the mentors and fellows as well as CSTEP and Shakti team members.
Day 1: A visit to Jakkur and Belandur lakes, with the former being a case study of how human intervention can save nature and the latter being an instance of human apathy killing nature.
Day 2: On the second day, the group visited the 400-year Big Banyan tree to work on poetry, music and storytelling.
Day 3: On the final day there were several sessions covering ‘The Science Behind Climate Change’. Dr Indu K Murthy and Dr R Subramanian from CSTEP gave the artists a basic understanding of climate change and issues related to it.
A session on ‘Climate Communication for Behaviour Change’ was conducted by Atima Mankotia, Director Communications, Shakti. While speaking on the best way to communicate climate change issues and climate action she said, “A change in behaviour will only come from mainstreaming climate change into all levels of the system and concentrated communication efforts. Climate Communication through art must follow five golden rules that include – 1) positive messaging 2) storytelling for engagement 3) dejargonising climate change 4) locally relevant messaging and 5) presenting solutions.”
Dr Mamta Sagar (Poet and Translator, Founder-Director of Kaavya Sanje)A poet, writer, academic, and translator, Dr Mamta Sagar is actively involved with international poetry translation projects from the UK, Slovenia, Spain, and Germany and facilitates poetry and translation workshops internationally. Her areas of interest include curating poetry performances and installations, poetry in public spaces, transdisciplinary engagements with text, sound, visual, and performative mediums of art. Dr Mamta Sagar is the Head of Studies, Creative Writing Programme, at Media Arts and Sciences, Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bengaluru.
Vasu Dixit (Musician and Composer, Lead Vocalist of Swarathma)Vasu Dixit is a composer, musician, and filmmaker. His craft brings many nuances of art into one space. Vasu is the lead singer of the band Swarathma and also creates music of his own through the Vasu Dixit Collective (VDC). Vasu’s open-throated voice, his rich vocal style, wide range, and deep passion is powered by a free-spirited celebration of life, whether he sings with VDC, Swarathma, or on his own.
Vasu Dixit (Musician and Composer, Lead Vocalist of Swarathma)Vasu Dixit is a composer, musician, and filmmaker. His craft brings many nuances of art into one space. Vasu is the lead singer of the band Swarathma and also creates music of his own through the Vasu Dixit Collective (VDC). Vasu’s open-throated voice, his rich vocal style, wide range, and deep passion is powered by a free-spirited celebration of life, whether he sings with VDC, Swarathma, or on his own.
Shawn Sebastian (Filmmaker, Co-founder of Drokpa Films)Shawn Sebastian is a filmmaker and an independent journalist. He is the co-founder of Drokpa Films, a production house specialising in development-centred multimedia content. Over the last eight years, Shawn has directed several documentaries and short films for various state governments, nonprofit organisations, and news platforms such as Discovery+ and Associated Press. He was a LAMP fellow in 2011–12 and is an alumnus of St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and the University of Hyderabad.