Creative Climate Connections: Enabling Cultural Exchange between Young People in South Wales and Young indigenous People in the Brazilian Amazon
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen Mary University of London
Department Name: Drama
Abstract
This project will be an inspiring addition to ongoing research collaborations led by Professor Paul HERITAGE (PI) between People's Palace Projects (PPP), the Kuikuro Indigenous Association (IFAX), the Tulukai Indigenous Association of the Wauja (AIT) and Dirty Protest Theatre (Wales).
Since 2015, PPP has worked closely with communities in the Xingu to develop a thriving cultural exchange with the Kuikuro and Wauja that has enabled a range of research projects, artistic residencies, exchanges, exhibitions, films and digital installations on indigenous culture and the climate emergency. This work has engaged public audiences from South London to North America to Venice Biennale, with the latest installation due to open in Glasgow for COP-26.
Drawing a third long-standing PPP project partner, Dirty Protest (Wales) into this exchange for the first time, this project will engage young people from the UK and the Xingu in three key aspects of this research:
* Activism and awareness-raising through cultural production
* The role of digital technologies as tool for preserving cultural heritage and combating the climate emergency
* Reimagining cultural institutions as spaces for climate action.
This project aims to mobilise 20 young people aged 14-18 to climate action by engaging them in PPP's ongoing research collaboration with the Xingu, equipping them with a variety of creative skills to express their own political views on climate change. The project is also an opportunity to address the intergenerational gap between older and younger citizens in both the Xingu and South Wales, whose differing sense of identity, relationships to the traditions of their respective communities, and engagement with technology contribute to markedly different attitudes to the natural world and climate change.
As PI, HERITAGE will work in collaboration with the Project Partners (IFAX, AIT and Dirty Protest), and four workshop facilitators: TAKUMA Kuikuro and PIRATA Waura, indigenous filmmakers based in the Xingu, PASKELL, and Dr Catriona FALLOW, a UK-based lecturer, workshop facilitator and part of PPP's Research Development team. The proposed workshops will be delivered over 6 sessions between September and November 2021 (2 per month) with 20 participants:
- 5 from Newport
- 5 from the Rhondda Cynon Taf Valleys (RCT)
- 5 from the Kuikuro Ipatse Village, Xingu Indigenous Area, Mato Grosso, Brazil
- 5 from the Wauja Piyulaga Village, Xingu
These workshops will be arts-based and explore three interlinked creative approaches: storytelling, filmmaking and performance. A selection of guest speakers from ongoing PPP research projects in South America and the UK will attend to share their work and insights.
During the course of the programme, participants will respond to the ideas and techniques explored, resulting in a multi-media performance and series of videos, which will then premiere publicly during an online showcase in November 2021 that will include an introduction, discussions and Q&A with member of the creative team and participants. Alongside this online event will be further screenings in the Ipatse and Piyulaga villages in the Xingu Indigenous Territory, as well as the possibility of a live, in-person performance in the UK (hosted by Dirty Protest at Le Public Space, Newport) if COVID restrictions allow.
The project's creative outcomes will also be disseminated in November 2021 as part of PPP's engagement campaign around its installation at Glasgow Science Museum within Reimagining Museums for Climate Action at COP-26. Beyond November 2021, these creative outcomes will then be hosted online via PPP's website (with accompanying project information, documentation and written reflection) and disseminated via PPP's active social media channels including https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQOuXQaUsnLv1tio5KpINag to continue to reach a wide global audience.
Since 2015, PPP has worked closely with communities in the Xingu to develop a thriving cultural exchange with the Kuikuro and Wauja that has enabled a range of research projects, artistic residencies, exchanges, exhibitions, films and digital installations on indigenous culture and the climate emergency. This work has engaged public audiences from South London to North America to Venice Biennale, with the latest installation due to open in Glasgow for COP-26.
Drawing a third long-standing PPP project partner, Dirty Protest (Wales) into this exchange for the first time, this project will engage young people from the UK and the Xingu in three key aspects of this research:
* Activism and awareness-raising through cultural production
* The role of digital technologies as tool for preserving cultural heritage and combating the climate emergency
* Reimagining cultural institutions as spaces for climate action.
This project aims to mobilise 20 young people aged 14-18 to climate action by engaging them in PPP's ongoing research collaboration with the Xingu, equipping them with a variety of creative skills to express their own political views on climate change. The project is also an opportunity to address the intergenerational gap between older and younger citizens in both the Xingu and South Wales, whose differing sense of identity, relationships to the traditions of their respective communities, and engagement with technology contribute to markedly different attitudes to the natural world and climate change.
As PI, HERITAGE will work in collaboration with the Project Partners (IFAX, AIT and Dirty Protest), and four workshop facilitators: TAKUMA Kuikuro and PIRATA Waura, indigenous filmmakers based in the Xingu, PASKELL, and Dr Catriona FALLOW, a UK-based lecturer, workshop facilitator and part of PPP's Research Development team. The proposed workshops will be delivered over 6 sessions between September and November 2021 (2 per month) with 20 participants:
- 5 from Newport
- 5 from the Rhondda Cynon Taf Valleys (RCT)
- 5 from the Kuikuro Ipatse Village, Xingu Indigenous Area, Mato Grosso, Brazil
- 5 from the Wauja Piyulaga Village, Xingu
These workshops will be arts-based and explore three interlinked creative approaches: storytelling, filmmaking and performance. A selection of guest speakers from ongoing PPP research projects in South America and the UK will attend to share their work and insights.
During the course of the programme, participants will respond to the ideas and techniques explored, resulting in a multi-media performance and series of videos, which will then premiere publicly during an online showcase in November 2021 that will include an introduction, discussions and Q&A with member of the creative team and participants. Alongside this online event will be further screenings in the Ipatse and Piyulaga villages in the Xingu Indigenous Territory, as well as the possibility of a live, in-person performance in the UK (hosted by Dirty Protest at Le Public Space, Newport) if COVID restrictions allow.
The project's creative outcomes will also be disseminated in November 2021 as part of PPP's engagement campaign around its installation at Glasgow Science Museum within Reimagining Museums for Climate Action at COP-26. Beyond November 2021, these creative outcomes will then be hosted online via PPP's website (with accompanying project information, documentation and written reflection) and disseminated via PPP's active social media channels including https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQOuXQaUsnLv1tio5KpINag to continue to reach a wide global audience.
| Title | Creative Climate Connections Xingu-Wales: final video |
| Description | Young people from indigenous villages of Xingu, in the Amazon basin, and a group from South Wales are linked by their experiences and responses to climate change. In 2021, in the run-up to COP26, 7 online workshops brought together 18 young people from across Newport and the Rhondda Cynon Taf Valleys in South Wales, and the Wauja Piyulaga Village in the Upper Xingu Territory in the Amazon basin, Brazil. This film - snapshots of their time together - is a collective, multimedia response to climate change where they live and the messages they want you to hear. The project is a collaboration between People's Palace Projects, Associação Indigena Tulukai and Dirty Protest Theatre in Wales. Credits: In the UK Catherine Paskell | Artistic Lead Darcey Williamson | Project Manager Catriona Fallow | Project Evaluator Hannah Lad | Project Coordinator Laura Dalgleish | Project Support Jorge Lizalde | Film Maker In Brazil Pirata Waurá | Artistic Lead Mayra Mota | Project Coordinator Mafalda Ramos | Project Support Jan Onoszko | Translator Guilherme Esteves | Translator Nathalia Lessa | Translator Wauja young people: Yari Tukupe Waurá Yapariwa Waurá Yakuwixuma Waurá Regina Waurá Kuyeyekumalu Waurá Kuye Kuyejuto Waurá Keiru Waurá Kamala Waurá Kagapakuma Waurá Itseitchuma Waurá Welsh young people: Loki Skyrme-Croft Gwen Parker Rhian Jones Fatmanur Akosy Evan Lewis Mari-May Lewis Casey Jones Megan Gillard |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | The creation of the film offered its young participants in both Wales and the Xingu an unprecedented opportunity to collaborate and connect, creating a unique international learning exchange that enabled participants to make powerful human connections and support their ability to be active protagonists in the growing global youth movement in the fight against climate change. The video has been viewed 116 times on YouTube. |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUs6zINfbLk |
| Title | Ten short videos by the project participants |
| Description | Ten Wauja participants produced a short video each documenting their and their community's responses to the climate crisis. The videos are spoken mainly in the Waura language (an Indigenous Arawak language) and have been posted on PPP's YouTube channel with English or Portuguese subtitles (as separate uploads). |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | The videos have been viewed a total of 1,811 times - 764 views for the English-subtitled versions and 1,047 views for the Portuguese-subtitled versions. |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcz-eAe2LHOb8WWsVowd7MTyP2MW8LA0F |
| Description | This curated digital exchange was successful in promoting rich international collaboration and connection, drawing on 15 years of collaborative research relationships with the Wauja and Dirty Protest Theatre. By engaging with PPP's portfolio of active research projects, the participating young people, artists, and facilitators in the UK and the Xingu had the unique opportunity to work together online to share their lived experiences, knowledge of their respective environments, and create a shared artistic expression of their feelings about climate change. In reflecting on what worked well during the course of the project, key learning tended to fall into two categories: 1) creative, pedagogical, or knowledge-based insights gained from the process, and 2) practicalities relating to the delivery and realisation of the project's outcomes. In terms of the insights shared and gained during the course of the workshops, participants and team members identified a number of key areas of connection between the two nations. For example, though the geographical and cultural contexts of our young participants was markedly different (not just between Wales and the Xingu, but also between Newport and the RCT Valleys in Wales), harmful industrial practices and post-industrial landscapes emerged as a point of connection and serious concern for our young participants. This included discussion of illegal deforestation or harmful mining practices in Brazil, to the Aberfan Disaster in South Wales. Young participants captured their responses to the harmful effects of industrialisation in their creative work. Regardless of age difference or region, participants' emotional relationship to space also emerged as a strong point of connection. This was encouraged and explored further by specific exercises undertaken during early workshops devised by Catherine Paskell, which encouraged participants to reflect on, describe, and share their sensorial relationships to the spaces and places they were in. Exercises resulted in a range of written and drawn responses, including spoken word recordings from participants (Rhondda Cynon Taff Valleys). We found that visual material - such as those generated as part of drawing or filming tasks during workshops or undertaken in preparation for sessions - worked extremely well and helped to navigate some of the challenges posed by working in translation across 3 different primary languages (English, Portuguese and Wauja). For example, early mapping exercises enabled young participants to share insights into their different lived environments quickly, offering a creative way of including everyone's perspectives. This led to a range of different examples and talking points, enabling participants to share insights into their personal lives, hopes, and homes. These early formative exercises also shaped some of the recurring themes and points of connection like 'pathways' or 'communities as family', as well as an overarching concern with what we take, what we give, what we destroy - and who is responsible. These are all reflected in the final creative outcome of the project (available to view here). As one participant, Gwen (Rhondda Cynon Taff Valleys), explained in her response to the project: 'one of the biggest things that we connected through between us Welsh people and the Wauja people is how important community and nurture is to us'. In terms of what worked well practically in the delivery and realisation of the project's aims, the team found that identifying ways of incrementally building on participants' contributions during workshop sessions in order to generate content for the final creative outcome was key. This included specific creative prompts such as those described above, as well as more low-stakes tasks. For example, a recurring opening exercise used across all workshop sessions was a 'waterfall' using the Chat function in Zoom. At the start and end of each session, participants were given a small prompt (such as 'what did you have for breakfast?' or 'How are we feeling at the end of today's session?') and asked to write one word into the Chat in response. They then posted these simultaneously, creating a 'waterfall' effect in the Chat that facilitators could then draw on to share contributions, highlight points of connection, or create space to ask participants to say more about their contributions. This then carried over into other aspects of the creative process, including how we asked participants to introduce themselves and share some of their reflections during the public sharing on the 5th November. In response to prompts, participants shared insights such as: 'This project has made me feel more passionate about helping the environment' (participant, Newport). 'I loved to be in the project. It allowed me to express myself and show the way we live in Xingu. I also learned a lot about Wales' (participant, Xingu). 'It surprised me how different my life is compared to the people in the Xingu. I will remember the people I have met, both locally and far away. I realised that we both want to help stop climate change, even though we live on different sides of the world' (participant, Newport). 'I never met someone from abroad until now. Now we are sharing our knowledge' (participant, Xingu). |
| Exploitation Route | This project is part of an ongoing collaboration (led by Heritage) between People's Palace Projects, the Tulukai Indigenous Association of the Wauja and other indigenous communities, and Dirty Protest Theatre. The research and creative team plan to continue this work to also include young people from urban contexts in Latin America alongside participants in the Xingu, as well as other regions of the UK alongside participants in South Wales. In addition to the project's continuing presence online via PPP's website (available here) and YouTube channel (available here), the team are currently exploring options for further screenings of work, including as part of a Brazilian indigenous film festival in the UK organised by PPP. As we look to develop this project further, one key thing that has emerged from our experience is the need for young people to be the architects of the project itself. We would therefore look to include opportunities to engage young participants even earlier as part of the conception and planning stages. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Other |
| URL | https://peoplespalaceprojects.org.uk/en/projects/creative-climate-connections-from-the-amazon-to-wales/ |
| Description | This project offered its young participants in both Wales and the Xingu an unprecedented opportunity to collaborate and connect, creating a unique international learning exchange that enabled participants to make powerful human connections and support their ability to be active protagonists in the growing global youth movement in the fight against climate change. In our original funding proposal, we anticipated the following short-term and longer-term benefits and impact, all of which were realised during the course of the project: Empower young people from the UK and Brazil's indigenous communities to add their voices to the action surrounding COP26 Enable young people to grow mutual understanding of global experiences of climate change and their role in demanding social change and learn new creative skills Champion the voices of indigenous communities in the fight against climate change Connect indigenous artist-activists and young people to new international partners and networks, increasing the visibility of their work Young participants and team members from both contexts learn about markedly different ways of life and culture Increase the representation of young voices in PPP's ongoing research collaborations From our public sharing event and subsequent hosting of the creative outcomes of this project online, the positive impacts of the project have extended to a wider audience, particularly in the UK. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
| Description | National Portfolio 2023-26 |
| Amount | £403,728 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Arts Council England |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2023 |
| End | 03/2026 |
| Description | 2 digital workshops for Earth Allies |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Earth Allies: Climate Activism Course Glasgow Science Centre, 2 online Workshops delivered during course Earth Allies is an engaging new course for young people ages 16-24 which aims to equip young people from underserved communities with the tools to be advocates for climate action. As part of this programme, Piratá Waurá and his students (Puyaitsi Tuhu Waurá and Matxumte Waurá) shared their journey into climate activism and the work they do to instigate change and raise awareness of the issues. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | 7 online workshop sessions |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 7 Online workshop sessions (including a public sharing) were delivered for young participants and participating artists. 19th October 2021 | Workshop One: Welcome to CCC! 21st October 2021 | Workshop Two: Mapping our Environments 25th October 2021 | Workshop Three: How I Relate to Trees 26th October 2021 | Workshop Four: Group Sharing and Development 28th October 2021 | 1-2-1 Feedback Sessions with participants 29th October 2021 | Workshop Five: Peer-to-peer sharing and feedback 5th November 2021 | COP26 Public Sharing Event: Landing Hub, Glasgow 11th November 2021 | Workshop Six: Final Screening and Reflection |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://peoplespalaceprojects.org.uk/en/projects/creative-climate-connections-from-the-amazon-to-wal... |
| Description | Article in The Spark magazine, Glasgow Science Centre |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Piratá Waurá participated in an interview for The Spark, Glasgow Science Centre's magazine for young visitors, which introduced the Wauja People and how their way of life was being affected by climate change. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.glasgowsciencecentre.org/sites/default/files/The-Spark/The%20Spark%20magazine%20-%20Issu... |
| Description | ECo-Nversations: The Role of the Arts in the Climate Emergency |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | How do we change hearts and minds about the climate crisis? Is it time to get cultural institutions, artists, and storytellers on board? When will we paying attention to the voices on the front line of the fight for climate justice? Eco-nversation is a podcast that brings together activists, artists, and academics to discuss our roles and responsibilities in the climate emergency, produced by People's Palace Projects at Queen Mary University of London In this first episode, we talk about the role of artists and arts organisations in responding to the climate emergency. Guests: Madani Younis and Zoe Svendsen. Madani is chief executive producer of The Shed (New York, USA) and former creative director of the Southbank Centre (London, UK), and artistic director of the Bush Theatre (London, UK) and Freedom Studios (Bradford, UK). Madani says we must make active commitments, drive change and find ways to hold each other accountable. Zoe Svendsen is an associate artist at Donmar Warehouse (London, UK) and lecturer at Cambridge University (Cambridge, UK), with vast experience as a director and dramaturg, including at the Barbican, Young Vic and Shakespeare's Globe (London, UK). For Zoe, the questions we need to ask about who we are and how we live in the world must be articulated as a conversation, both in and beyond the theatre. Hosted by Paul Heritage, director of , an art research centre for social justice and Professor of Drama and Performance at Queen Mary University of London. Executive production and script: Yula Rocha/ People's Palace Projects Audio design: Image: #ShowYourStripes by University of Reading |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://open.spotify.com/show/5IheM3KhVjgJpQ7BafoFQL |
| Description | Feature in O Globo national Brazilian newspaper |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Participants in the research team were interviewed for a news article by Ancelmo Gois, 'Índios do Xingu vão à COP26 por apoio contra queimadas' [Xingu Community attends COP26 for support against fires] Globo [National Brazilian Newspaper], 05 November 2021 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://blogs.oglobo.globo.com/ancelmo/post/indios-do-xingu-vao-cop26-por-apoio-contra-queimadas.htm... |
| Description | Feature interview on ITV Wales News |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Catherine Paskell and young participants from South Wales participated in an interview with ITV Wales News at 6, 03 November 2021, 20:42. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Herald Magazine |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Takuma Kuikuro participated in a press interview that produced an article by Sarah Urwin Jones, 'The art of trying to save the planet: a look at how artists are responding to COP26', in Herald Magazine Scotland, 30 October 2021. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-herald-magazine/20211030/282260963680099 |
| Description | Livestream of event at The Landing Hub, COP26 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Live Streaming of the Public Presentation at COP26 Glasgow, The Landing Hub, 5th November 2021. This public presentation of findings was delivered online as a live-streamed event for both academic and public audiences. It premiered videos, images and creative responses made by young people in the Xingu and South Wales, documenting their concerns and experiences of climate change and what it means for their way of life. The event was led by Professor Paul Heritage (PI), Catherine Paskell, Dr Catriona Fallow and Indigenous artist-activist Takumã Kuikuro in person, with Piratá Waurá and young participants from the Wauja, and young participants and team members from Wales, and team members based in London contributing live online. The recording of the livestream has been watched 180 times on PPP's YouTube channel. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3siQy6YgK8 |
| Description | Public Presentation at COP26 Glasgow, The Landing Hub, 5th November 2021. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This public presentation of findings was delivered in-person and also online as a live-streamed event for both academic and public audiences (the live streaming is separately accounted for). It premiered videos, images and creative responses made by young people in the Xingu and South Wales, documenting their concerns and experiences of climate change and what it means for their way of life. The event was led by Professor Paul Heritage (PI), Catherine Paskell, Dr Catriona Fallow and indiegneous artist-activist Takumã Kuikuro in person, with Piratá Waurá and young participants from the Wauja, and young participants and team members from Wales, and team members based in London contributing live online. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://peoplespalaceprojects.org.uk/en/ppp-at-cop26-in-glasgow/ |
| Description | Research team attendance at COP27, Egypt |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Research team members Thiago Jesus and Shirley Djukurna Krenak attended the COP27 Climate talks to participate in policy dialogues about Indigenous people's protagonism within international solutions to the climate crisis. (Thiago Jesus's participation was funded by Queen Mary University of London). Press coverage was secured, and interviews were recorded with other participants of the COP27 talks. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2022/pr/queen-mary-tackles-sustainability-and-environmental-challe... |
| Description | Wales Arts International press feature |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Team members were interviewed for a feature on the Creative Climate Connections project (including link to livestream event). 'Cymru at COP26: Dirty Protest Theatre connect young Welsh and Xingu people', Wales Arts International, 04 November 2021. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://wai.org.uk/news-jobs-opportunities/cymru-cop26-dirty-protest-theatre-connect-young-welsh-and... |