YESI Environmental Artivism Network

Co-Lead: Felicia Liu (DEG) 

Co-lead: Catherine Love-Smith (School of ACT) 

Join the Network

The Environmental Artivism Network (EAN) is an interdisciplinary, international initiative led by the University of York. It sits at the critical intersection of environmental research, creative practice, and social activism. By moving beyond traditional, science-led approaches to the climate crisis, the network creates a collaborative space where art and culture act as catalysts for environmental understanding and political action.

Aims and Objectives

The network serves as a bridge between academic research and necessary environmental action led by non-academic stakeholders. Our core objectives include:

• Creating a Collaborative Ecosystem: Bringing together students, staff, scholars, artists, NGOs, and community leaders to share ideas and experiment with new methods of engagement.
• Supporting Multi-Faceted Research: Advancing the study of environmental art, including its aesthetic analysis, its impact on environmental politics, and its role in community representation.
• Empowering Marginalised Voices: Valuing local and traditional ecological knowledge to address the marginalisation of youth, women, and ethnic minorities in conventional climate discourse.
• Fostering Interdisciplinary Innovation: Acting as a catalyst for new research directions that cut across YESI themes, including Food, Water and Waste; Resilient Socio-ecological Systems; and Environment, Climate and Health.

Why Environmental Artivism Matters Now

In a global landscape where traditional civil spaces and forms of protest are increasingly restricted, artivism provides a unique and powerful alternative.

1. Navigating Political Landscapes: Artists often act as "unexpected" stakeholders. Their work can navigate challenging political environments that may be hostile to conventional activism, making environmental art a vital tool for global action.
2. A Growing Academic Field: The network responds to the emerging academic trend of "environmental artivism," providing a platform for the cross-pollination of theories and methodologies between the humanities, sciences, and civil society.
3. University of Public Good: By connecting academic research with public engagement, the network reinforces the University of York’s commitment to socially-engaged knowledge production and international partnership.

Our Global Network

The EAN emerged from a foundational partnership between the University of York, the London School of Economics (LSE), and the Universiti Malaya. We have since expanded to include a diverse array of international partners and institutions:

• King’s College London
• University of Leeds
• University of Manchester
• Chulalongkorn University
• Mahidol University 
• University of Vienna
• ArtRabbit UK
• British Council Malaysia

Outputs

• British Council Malaysia Connected through Cultures “Seasonality of Anthropocene”
• Liu, F. H. M., Varkkey, H., Smith, T. E., Reynolds, P., Pusingha, P., Li, H., & Bungar, S. (2025). Artivism for Cleaner Air? An Exploration of the Artistic Representation of “Haze” in Southeast Asia. Environmental Communication, 1-22.
• HRC Blog of our workshop in York
• ArtRabbit of our workshop in Kuala Lumpur 
• YESI International Fellowship: Echoes of Climate: Gamelan Encounters in the Anthropocene