The UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 places Climate Action on its agenda. Through this motivation and various other motivations many other organs follow suit in making this imperative a priority. It is an appropriate call to action that is urgent. This cannot be denied.
Naturally, there is a move by all sectors of society to play their part in mitigating an imminent crisis of global proportions. The arts and culture and creative sectors are no exception. We absolutely all have a role to play. What is also true is that this crisis is looming, unfolding, lived and in its regenerative stage all at once. This is where we must contend with the fact that more than one thing can be true.
The crisis is looming because if as the proverbial “we”, do not act, the consequences of the damage that “we” are causing to the environment are fast approaching.
The crisis is unfolding because the consequences of the damage that “we” have caused to the environment before it was considered “unethical” to do so and when no one was watching are manifesting as nature takes its course.
The crisis is lived by those who have no way out of the consequences of the damage caused or that continues to be caused to the environment by extractive and irresponsible practices that service “global economic systems that are deeply rooted in patriarchy, capitalism and neoliberalism” (Urgent Action Fund Africa For Womn's Human Rights, 2022).
The crisis is in its regenerative stage because nature by its very nature is regenerative. It does what it needs to do to claim the time that it needs to restore itself. That could mean, nature defending itself to demand space to rest or nature birthing something new in place of that which has been destroyed.
The question might be then that in this combination of truths who is most vulnerable? Who and what is most at risk and why? Who takes responsibility for the redress of the inequities of a neo-liberal, capitalistic, patriarchal world order that is built on domination, extractive practices and injustices?
To answer the above questions, it would be irresponsible and willfully blind if we did not place the sector in context of the global economic systems alluded to above. We can agree that these form part of the environment within which the sector operates, responds to, is influenced by; etc. It is how power, resources, agency are organized historically, currently, and how a future(s) can be imagined that either perpetuate what exists or offer us alternatives.
A useful place to start is to sit with the discomfort of accepting the plural dichotomy that environmental sustainability as a concept is. It is a call to action that is meant to inspire change. It is a contested space with contested meanings. This is an invitation to lean into this contestation and discomfort as this is where meaningful work resides.
I offer here my own understanding based on breaking down the two words and seeking the most accessible definitions to make sense of this concept in a language that is not my mother tongue.
The word environment can broadly be understood to refer to the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, plant and other organisms live or operate. The UN describes sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. (United Nations, 2023). Environmental sustainability is therefore concerned with the meeting of the present and future needs of all persons, animals, plants, and other organisms in the surroundings that they live/and or are to live or operate/and or are to operate in.
It is important to note that my grappling with this concept in the English language does not imply a lack of understanding or relationship with this co-existence and interdependence of life forces across realms. I come from a people and a way of knowing that is rooted in this relationship.
In the same breath, it is true that the existence of Environmental Justice movements speaks to the many layers of intersecting struggles that need to be considered when thinking through environmental sustainability. It is therefore harmful to those who are marginalized to speak about environmental sustainability without consideration of how structural violence affects the conditions of their lives, their environments. “Structural violence describes the ways in which social structures are designed to stop certain individuals and groups from reaching their full potential” (Galtung, 1969)
“Unpacking structural issues that put certain communities at risk is at the heart of this analysis, believing that environmental justice is realized when people can realize their highest potential, without interruption by environmental racism or inequity. The expansive vision of environmental justice is one in which cultural and biological diversity are respected and where there is democratic decision-making and resources for communities to grow and prosper” (Green Action For Health and Environment Justice, 2023).
South African actor, co-producer, Tony Bonani Miyambo who has toured his theatre production Kafka’s Ape to 10 countries in the last 13 years warns against taking a view of environmental sustainability that is a static destination and utopia rather than the shifting dynamic pursuit that it is.
“Environmental sustainability is an evolving survival instinct that emerges and builds itself through practice and for adaptability.” He shares this by recounting all the ways in which his show has evolved for his self-preservation and the show’s lifespan to become easier to tour with each learning curve along the journey. For example, the show is now down to two bags for a collapsible set. Toni does the self-direction, the plotting of the lights, self-stage manages; etc. because it’s just been “easier” that way. This is both a financial decision and the inevitability of working as a fringe and independent artist without the backing of large institutions that have the resources for a more elaborate arrangement. To have to work in ways that are sustainable as dictated by the environment.
The environment is not passive. It also has a way of dictating.
It is the same environment that necessitates for Miyambo’s work to have been predominantly presented abroad for it to have enjoyed the success that it has. This has meant that Miyambo has been able to sustain a living through this work. The markets in his own country would never have been able to provide and sustain an opportunity of a similar stature lucratively.
Various other African visual artists raised this recurring theme of the materials they use to make their art being found objects or recycled materials in response to the limitations of their environment and as their contribution to a more sustainable way of working. They understood this to be their role and responsibility towards environment sustainability and climate action. There was concern that there are many other actions that African artists and creatives have always taken that might not make it to the various metrics that will emerge to measure compliance to environmental sustainability imperatives. The fear of being penalized for not having their frame of reference and reality recognized by whomever sets the benchmark and standard which would influence their ability to access certain funds and opportunities such as residencies was ever-present.
Our past histories have seen the ecosystems of our sector take on trajectories that are influenced by global economic systems and benchmarks. Those are shaped by the inequities created by colonial pillaging, racism, gender discrimination, patriarchy, capitalism, and neo-liberalism. Depending on which side of the spectrum you sit you felt and continue to feel these as an inherited and generational deficit or inherited and generational advantage. Therefore, the fear of being structurally excluded is not paranoia.
To the state the obvious, the playing field is not levelled.
How do we decolonialize existing arrangements for cooperation? What does redress, solidarity and justice look, feel, taste and sound like? If we consider that the order as it exists is manmade, what might a radical, feminist approach that is rooted in a “healing justice framework” look like? Because maybe we can agree that outside of the technical mechanisms that we might build to implement, at its very core environmental sustainability is an attempt at healing our relationship with the environment/nature because we are afraid to perish from the consequences of our actions as the human race. We also understand the scale of our contributions to this degradation differs.
The “healing justice” framework is a useful tool for analysis and a lens to “transform systems of inequality while addressing the ways in which trauma is experienced and manifests in collectives, under the overarching umbrella of striving towards liberation”. This can be applied to our relationship to the environment in its broadest all-encompassing sense of this ecosystem and co-existence.
In taking responsibility for our individual and collective role we must consider all things and beings that form part of the ecosystem as urgent, vulnerable, and worthy of being preserved particularly the endangered and marginalized entities and peoples. Our attempts and posturing towards sustainability cannot shame and punish the marginalized. Environmental justice as a movement exists to hold us accountable for the tendency to preserve extractive models and the hierarchy of lives and disposability of some more than others. We must understand that “healing is self-confrontation.” (Urgent Action Fund Africa For Womn's Human Rights, 2022)
The global north has an appetite for African art and African artists. Satiation of this appetite has taken on many shapes and forms at different stages of our global political trajectories. The looting of art effects to go and be displayed as trophies for colonial conquest in European museums is one such example. Unethical practices around the tour circuits, royalties for African music being held in European countries is another example of the exploitative nature that this appetite can take.
There are of course constructive iterations of this. In addressing the undesirable manifestations of arts mobility and the mobility of cultural goods we need to think through the entire ecosystem of which mobility is but one aspect.
Silenkosi Moyo, Regional Director of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo speaks to “the need for sustainability in the arts environment where issues of social protection must come into play more so in some countries than others.” If this is considered as an act of collective responsibility and solidarity, then we begin to think about how to reshape the sector as a self-sustaining environment.
The challenge becomes about honestly interrogating our current ways of working. We must confront whether we source work and artists from the continent in ways that are ethical and sustainable for the ecosystem and the material conditions of their lives in the long term or for our immediate consumption.
The commercial visual arts market for instance is rife with issues around manipulation of markets and the politics of value creation of artists’ work. This rarely has direct beneficiation of artists. In what ways does this support the sustainability of said artists? In what ways does it threaten or support the sustainability of their environments? In what ways is this ethical?
The ability of African artists to move around the world with their work does mitigate the risk of exploitation, as African artists are given the chance to learn new environments and interact with those environments and other artists and be granted agency. This cannot be replaced nor replicated by the move towards the digital. Digital mobility is also dependent on privileges, access, and infrastructure. The Covid 19 pandemic revealed these limitations.
Mobility justice and solidarity is urgent. Acts of solidarity must take on a more radical stance for meaningful change to be stimulated. An example is not replacing artists who are denied visas but rather for the stages to left mute, gallery walls to be left blank with clear writing of the reason for the absence of the said artists. Perhaps if the inconvenience is felt at the audience and patron level another layer of solidarity might emerge from active citizenry that suffers the inconvenience and disappointment rather than treating artists as dispensable and replaceable. This form of protest could compliment the other more formalized advocacy as part of a multi-pronged approach.
A case for why there will always be place and need for in-person interaction within our sector has been sufficiently labored in most post-pandemic discussions of this nature. That while great things have emerged and can emerge from the digital space, they can never be seen to represent the full spectrum of possibilities and or be seen to replace other forms. A thriving and healthy environment is where all possibilities are available as options that can be actualized without forms of discrimination posing further limitations.
The apprehension from African artists about what the implication of a one-dimensional interpretation of playing a part in efforts towards a more just relationship with the environment might mean for them is real. The same can be said for other marginalized identities such as Black, gender-expansive and women artists and creative professionals in an ableist world. This comes from a lived experience of the reality of intersecting forms of discrimination having implications on every area of one’s life as structural exclusion becomes a weapon and opportunity for further disenfranchising.
Solidarity means thinking through how to create opportunities that speak to a more equitable way of distributing opportunities. This will take on different iterations depending on the context.
“Naming the moment is based on 'structural analysis.' But it is different, too. Structural analysis helps us identify the underlying power relationships and the deeper contradictions that determine the structure of our society in the long term. Political analysis for action helps us look at a given moment or conjuncture to understand how current social forces move together to affect our strategies in the short term. If we focus only on the structural elements, our understanding may remain static and lifeless. We won't see how things change as forces shift. On the other hand, if we look only at the personalities and events of the moment, we may lose sight of the deeper issues and the longer-term battles. This tension between our daily work on short-term goals and our longer term efforts to change an unjust system is central to naming the moment.” (Barndt, 1991)
Bibliography
Urgent Action Fund Africa For Womn's Human Rights. (2022). "We Carry Generational Demands For Healing That Will Not Rest": An African Feminist Exploration of Healing Justice As An Analytical Lens and A Practice. Nairobi: Urgent Action Fund Africa For Womn's Human Rights.
United Nations. (2023, February 20). United Nations. Retrieved from www.un.org/en/academic-impact/sustainability: www.un.org/en/academic-impact/sustainability
Green Action For Health and Environment Justice. (2023, February 20). greenaction.org. Retrieved from greenaction.org: greenaction.org/what-is-environmental-justice/
Barndt, D. (1991). Naming the Moment: Political Analysis for Action - A Manual for Commuinty Groups. In D. Barndt, Naming the Moment: Political Analysis for Action - A Manual for Commuinty Groups. Toronto : The Moment Project Jesuit Centre for Social Faith and Justice.
Galtung, J. (1969). Violence, Peace and Peace Research. In J. Galtung, Violence, Peace and Peace Research.
Ukhona Ntsali Mlandu is the founder and head curator of makwande.republic in Goshen Village, Eastern Cape. She is Senior Atlantic Fellow for Racial Equity and Global Atlantic Fellow. She is also the Global Cultural Relations Platform Fellow (2021). Mlandu is also a graduate of the Global Arts Management Fellowship with the Devos Institute, University of Maryland,USA. Her work is interested in artist mobility and mobility justice for artists and cultural goods. Mlandu also has a special interest in the politics of public space and place-making, spatial and gender justice (including the concerns of cultural workers who are mothering-in the fullest most inclusive sense of the word), heritage and memory. All her work is concerned with decoloniality and a black radical feminist position as central to the transformation and imagining of justice, repair, care and equity. This includes using and developing a healing justice framework to address social justice. She has curated a number of festivals, programmes and public art interventions including the public art live installation #100AfricanReads.