By Sophie Roback, Alliance Intern from Colorado College ’24
Art to End Fossil Fuels is a project by People vs. Fossil Fuels with designs created by 5 artists directly experiencing extreme weather disasters, according to Common Dreams. Artist LMNOPI created her work amidst Vermont’s catastrophic flash flooding in July: “I took breaks from scrambling around my basement, sweeping water towards the pump, to work on the poster design for this campaign. Staring at the defiant red-headed girl up to her neck in water while I could hear water pouring into my basement felt surreal; as if I was staring into a kind of art mirror.”
Another of the artists, Favianna Rodriguez, explains the importance of this art, “It speaks to our emotions, and it also opens up our imagination to show us what’s possible. It takes us to another world. What we urgently need in our climate movement is to be able to imagine solutions and see ourselves in a different kind of relationship to nature.” The project will display 50,000 posters in public spaces across North America, and is encouraging groups and individuals to order the free posters to put up themselves.
This project is happening in collaboration with the thousands of people who are marching in New York City and around the world for the Global Fight to End Fossil Fuels. Other pieces in the project discuss extreme heat and wildfires. And finally, some pieces share the feeling of being inspired by those around us fighting climate change and the reimagination necessary to change our relationship with nature. The work by artists Luz Pacheco, LMNOPI, Erica Alexia Ledesma, Favianna Rodriguez and Jan Martijn Burger creates a powerful message urging a call to action to end fossil fuels.