Art,Culture andDesign

Artists, designers and cultural agents reflect changes in society, the climate and nature in their work, just as scientists do. They encourage open discourse and creative collaboration. That is why the Wuppertal Institute supports dialogue and cooperation between the worlds of art, culture, design and science.

In these times of mounting global problems, highly complex and dynamic circumstances and multifaceted challenges, such as limiting the effects of climate change, it is more important than ever to understand the cultural side of sustainability. By opening up diverse perspectives on social change and establishing multiple approaches in a critical yet creative discussion, art, culture and design can create spaces for innovation and reflection that were previously both unthinkable and unfeasible. Interaction with science in particular offers great potential, as scientific findings often play a role in the contextualisation and implementation of artistic works. Art and science help each other to be more open-minded and think differently. For this reason, the Wuppertal Institute collaborates with designers, artists and others in the cultural sector on projects that combine creative concepts with scientific findings and develop practical solutions to meet environmental and social challenges.

Collaboration between artistic and scientific disciplines
Collaboration between artistic and scientific disciplines allows complex themes to be brought to life in experiential spaces.
The role of culture in sustainable development

Conversations about sustainability are often conducted separately, within individual disciplines and areas of practice. That is why the Wuppertal Institute seeks to explore relationships and strengthen dialogue between creative and artistic disciplines, sustainability research and practice.

Emotion-driven strategies for sustainable development

Artists and designers can address complex topics such as climate change and sustainability from any point of view, including interdisciplinary perspectives, develop them systemically and then present them in an intentionally segmented context. Design concepts and products are created at the interface between nature, people and society, reflecting or symbolising effects, attitudes, morals and actions. Their ability to put everything from empathy to antipathy in social context is fundamental to encouraging sustainable behaviour. As well as raising awareness, this opens up new perspectives and opportunities for action. Because of these potentials the Wuppertal Institute supports dialogue and cooperation between the worlds of art, culture, design and science, for example through joint workshops and projects. Direct interaction between artists, designers, scientists and the public can help to develop sustainable visions of the future and trigger new conversations.

Interdisciplinary approaches to sustainability

To support transitions towards a sustainable future, Wuppertal Institute researchers are working with the University of Wuppertal as part of the transform.NRW project. This aims to develop a hybrid platform where the art, culture and design scenes and the scientific community can interact with representatives from politics, business and civil society. The project raises awareness of the potential impact of art and design projects by facilitating an open discourse between various stakeholder groups. To this end, it collaborates with 14 partner organisations from the fields of art, culture, design, local government, business and science.

GREENSTAGE is an EU co-funded project working with the performing arts sector in Europe to make it easier for cultural institutions to implement environmentally friendly practices and circular economy principles. To this end, the Wuppertal Institute's project team is developing and testing a zero-waste toolbox and a self-assessment tool tailored to the cultural sector in collaboration with partners from the arts community in Italy, Slovenia, Latvia, Austria and Germany.

[Translate to Englisch:] Carolin Baedeker

Art, culture and design shape processes of change, put in question, open up spaces for new things, transcend boundaries and connect what we are with what we want to be. They are essential for the sustainability transformation and create images and symbols for values that shape our relationship with people and nature through experimental spaces.

Dr. Carolin Baedeker
Vice-Director

Topics

Read more on our research on art, culture and design:

News

Here you can find up-to-date information on research findings and activities in the field of art, culture and design.

Projects

Selected projects in the field of art, culture and design. In the following you find selected sample projects. A complete list is available here.

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