As Cline explains, The Climate Artists Collective, ClimateArtists.net, formed online in the spring of 2025 through Netvvrk, a national online community where visual artists connect, critique each other’s work, and share professional resources. Artist Caroline Anderson put out a call for a small group interested in addressing climate change through art, and five women responded: Caroline Anderson of Rhode Island, Rebecca Carlton of Wisconsin, Rosemarie Gleiser of Colombia/New York, Elaine Miller of Chicago and Sharlene Cline in Homer.
Eventually the group decided they wanted to meet in person and chose Homer as their destination for a two week gathering together. They have several public events available during their time in Homer including art workshops, artist talks and potlucks where community members can meet to share their own experiences and thoughts on the general theme of “climate change.”
The group met on Tuesday to share a little about their passion related to the theme of climate change and how it influenced the beginning of their artist group. Caroline Anderson of Rhode Island shared these thoughts:
“Climate change, to me, is the biggest, most important topic. It is the largest characteristic of the time we live in and the time our children and our grandchildren are going to live in. It's not going to go away. I thought, “gee, there has to be other people who feel the same way and want to create a community. That's what we're trying to do. Who else feels the same way as I do, who else thinks the same way I do? So that's why I thought it was important to start the group.”
Elaine Miller contributed as well:
“Why am I doing this? What really matters to me is the planet, you know? And so I'm trying to work out, how can I make art when the everything's collapsing around me. So somehow we're working together to create, you know, a community in the arts. I feel everyone is getting is starting to wake up and realizing what's happening.”
One of the first things they noticed as a group is that they all are from and live in coastal communities across the country and to show this they created a map of photographs from each hometown displayed on the wall of Homer’s Kenai Peninsula College. The images are not just of the pristine environments from each location but also show signs of industry and include poetry to describe each place.
The Homer residency eventually grew into two community-centered projects. Coastal Contrasts focuses on printmaking workshops using upcycled material and the workshops will take place at Homer’s Kachemak Cay Campus. Sacredness of Place will include an artist talk at the Pratt Museum, a one day raku pit fire event that will take place at Bishop’s Beach and an installation opening of the raku pieces at the Pratt. The raku pieces are being constructed locally with contributions from Chapman's fifth grade and the Paul Banks first grade. The raku feature has also had assistance from Olivia Philpot, art and ceramics teacher at Homer High School and Winter Marshall-Allen, special education teacher.
Cline noted some additional pieces that will be contributed from the community:
“And then we also have the KBay Clay Community. They're making work as well. And there's some random other professional artists making work. And next we’ll bisque fire it. Everyone's bisque firing it. And then they're going to take tin foil and colorants: natural and some chemical. The kids aren't doing the chemical part, the young kids, and then they're going to wrap it, and then we're going to dig this big pit at the beach and then fire it, and then hang it.”
A final feature of the residency of importance to the artists is all of the various ways they have reached out to engage with the community and hear the voice of the community in relation to the concept of climate change. This is why they’re including a number of interactive opportunities in addition to the arts workshops. Artists Miller and Rosemary shared these details on the importance of engaging additional voices when working in a field, arts, that tends to be rather isolated: “as visual artists, we're isolated. I mean, you go in your studio, you work, you're by yourself. Your ideas have to come through. You don't ask other people for permission to do the work that you do, and you you just do it because you know that you have to do it. I mean, at least that's how I feel, yes, but isn't they have the 50% of the work is stays there. But if it doesn't reach out, the people doesn't reach any viewer, doesn't reach any public and the message is not out there.”
Upcoming events with the Climate Artists Collective
- Classes at KPC, registration available through kpc website.
- Rebecca Carlton’s artist talk at the Pratt Museum, Thursday March 19th at 6 pm.
- Climate Change potluck in the KPC commons. March 23 starting at 5:30
- The Raku clay fire pit @ Bishop’s Beach. Thursday March 26.
- Raku installation and opening at the Pratt. March 28.
Reporting from Homer, this is Emilie Springer.
