Perspectives of artist-practitioners on the communication of climate change in the Pacific

Purpose The study investigates the role of the visual arts for communicating climate change in a Pacific islands context, through the perspectives of artists and climate change practitioners. Methodology semi-structured research interviews were undertaken with artists and climate change practitioners. Findings and experiences of, climate change. There was an intention to use arts-based approaches to raise awareness and promote action on climate change. The artwork produced drew on metaphors and story-telling to convey future climate impacts, and aspects of climate change relevant to Fijian and Pacific communities. Research limitations The study reports the perspectives of participants and discusses the potential uses of arts communication. Conclusions cannot be drawn from the findings regarding the effectiveness of specific artwork or of arts communication as a general approach. Originality/value The present study identifies the motivations and objectives of artist-practitioners involved in climate change communication. We highlight the role of personal experience, and their use of artistic concepts and creative considerations pertinent to the geography and culture of the Pacific region.


Introduction
Climate change and a changing environment are among the Pa ifi egio s g eatest contemporary challenges, with impacts upon its societies and cultures which are far reaching and already underway (Savo et al., 2016). Geographic isolation, the fragility of ecosystems, limited land resources and depleted marine resources, all contribute to a vulnerability to climate change across the Pacific islands (Weir et al., 2016;Taylor and Kumar, 2016). For those living in the islands of the Pacific, the consequences of climate change include risks to health and livelihoods from extreme weather events and changing weather patterns, as well as threats to food and water security (McIver et al., 2016). Some evidence suggests that climate change impacts are already leading directly to migration within and beyond the region (Locke, 2009) although, for many people, it is not yet seen a principal concern (Mortreux and Barnett, 2009). A range of other problems are faced across the Pacific in connection with climate change, including inundation of low-lying islands by the sea and beach erosion, flooding and saltwater intrusion to drinking supplies, and impacts on infrastructure (MacLean and Kench, 2015;Mimura, 1999;Ellison and Fiu, 2010).
Because of the particular vulnerability of islands in the Pacific to the consequences of climate change, regional bodies such as the Pacific Island Development Forum (PIDF), together with international groupings such as the Association of Small Island States (AOSIS), were along the most vocal advocates for the inclusion of an aspiration to keep global temperatures to within 1.5°C at the 2015 Paris climate talks (Hoad, 2016; although this still fell short of a desire among many for 1.5°C to be set as a harder limit). Indeed, a key driver of the pressure for this target came from the Pacific-wide political demands laid out in the Suva Declaration on climate change, signed in Suva, Fiji, just prior to the Paris talks (PIDF, 2015).
Although Pacific nations have been in the vanguard of pressing for ambitious action to mitigate climate change, as well as for climate finance to enable adaptation, work commissioned by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has concluded that most people in the Pacific islands have a limited understanding of climate change and its potential for harm, with an attendant lack of community participation and decision-making taking place on adaptation (Nunn, 2012).
Because of these shortcomings, Nunn (2012) argues that levels of awareness about climate change need to be raised among individuals and communities in the region. Furthermore, if communities are to access available funding for climate change adaptation and be active participants in national and international climate change debates, then it is essential for people to have both an awareness and informed leadership on these issues at local, national, regional and international levels (Moser, 2014).
Where communities are actively involved in projects that seek to adapt to the impacts of climate change on their livelihoods and resources, this has the potential to lead to positive outcomes such as enhanced food and water security (McNamara, 2013). By contrast, a lack of community involvement can lead to inappropriate or maladaptive changes (Barnett and O Neill, 2010). Despite this, there has been little practical guidance available on how to effectively communicate climate change specifically in ways that increase community resilience and capacity to adapt (McNaught et al., 2014;Moser, 2014). Indeed, some commonly used climate change communication strategies have now been shown to be counter-p odu ti e, fo e a ple he e the lead to fea o dise po e e t O Neill a d Nicholson-Cole, 2009).
One way in which public audiences can be drawn to be interested in the subject of climate change is through artistic approaches. Art that addresses sustainability and climate change has been found variously to emphasise an intent to educate, to bring an experiential ele e t to people s u de sta di g, o to encourage mitigation and behaviour change (Giannachi, 2012). Arts projects that consider climate change have typically engaged with the scientific basis and physical realities of climate change, whilst finding opportunities to explore ways of responding to climate change as individuals and societies (Gabrys and Yusoff, 2012). The prominent, international project Cape Farewell has approached this through bringing together artists and scientists during expeditions, leading to numerous exhibitions and events that have set out to communicate the urgency of climate change and to promote societal change (Buckland, 2012;Knebusch, 2008). Other high-profile festivals and programmes of work have also ought togethe a tists responses to climate change. The Australian Climarte festival has included work which sets out to personalise and engender conversation about climate change (van Renssen, 2017). In parallel to the international climate change negotiations in Paris in 2015, a programme of work termed ArtCOP21 likewise highlighted the role of culture in addressing climate change, including through installations which drew attention to the plight of climate change refugees, and visual illustrations of the scale of i di iduals a o e issio s (Sommer and Klöckner, 2017;van Renssen, 2017).
In addition to the exhibition of work by professional artists, artistic approaches have been used to raise awareness of climate change at the community level and using participatory methods. Through encouraging members of the public to contribute waste plastic to a street sculpture, a local arts group in Austin, USA, has set out to draw attention to the interrelated issues of climate change and ocean pollution; a parallel project in Seattle, USA, entailed local volunteers raising markers at a shoreline to show potential for raised sea levels in the future, a work that Hall et al. (2007) describe as conveying a sense of change and foreboding.
Arts projects such as these often incorporate educational or activist aims, as well as an emphasis on finding effective responses to climate change. For example, Randerson (2007) discusses a project based in Rarotonga (Cook Islands) which encouraged schoolchildren to design posters about how to lessen the impact of climate change; their submissions included imagery which drew attention to the negative effects of extreme weather, industrialisation, and livestock introduction upon island life. Similarly, a community arts project carried out in Tasmania, Australia, enabled children to work with artists and educators to produce and showcase artwork on their understanding of climate change, and to propose solutions and to explore their own agency in addressing this issue (Stratford and Low, 2015).
As the examples highlighted above illustrate, climate change art has the capacity to ask people to think through issues for themselves and to engage with these in a creative, personal and immediate way (Duxbury, 2010;Gabrys and Yusoff, 2012). At its most powerful, art that addresses climate change has the capacity to engage society in new and meaningful ways that promote positive changes in people s behaviours and outlooks (Duxbury, 2010;Curtis, 2009).
Of particular relevance for the present study is the nature of art across the Pacific region; this has been described by Watanabe (2013) as reflecting aspects of the collective self and shared identity. Much Pacific art recognises traditional approaches, including performance and use of materials such as barkcloth, while reflecting influences from elsewhere (Cochrane, 2016). As a response to climate change in the region, Koya (2012) argues that the arts offer the opportunity for social learning as well as cultural expression, for example through discussion of how to reconcile traditional lifestyles with contemporary commercial and individualised pressures. Application of art practice to these ends includes the work of Laje Rotuma, a Fijian NGO whose activities incorporate the use of storytelling and visual arts to efle t people s e pe ie es a d to aise a a e ess of marine conservation, as well as projects by communities which have interpreted and addressed environmental issues through styles of music and dance characteristic of the region (Koya, 2012).

Background to the research and methods
There is now a substantial and growing literature on climate change communication and public engagement, including studies which have assessed the general properties that can render it effective or meaningful to particular audiences (see, e.g., Whitmarsh et al., 2012). Largely absent from this literature has been research that explores the role and perspectives of artist-practitioners themselves as contributors to climate change communication. The personal and creative interpretation of climate change is, however, a critical part of the process of making meaning of this complex subject matter. The present study focuses upon the perspectives of a group of artists and communicators working to engage a wider audience with climate change. In doing so, we seek to provide insights into the motives and inspirations that influenced their work.
The research was undertaken during the course of a week-long E o A ts practicum held in Fiji during November 2014. The practicum was funded and enabled by the University of the South Pacific (USP) in conjunction with the Oceania Centre for Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies.
The objectives of the practicum were to develop and evaluate the potential for the visual arts to communicate and enhance public engagement with climate change issues. The project sought to bring together individuals with an interest both in climate change and the visual arts. As such, those participating comprised both professional artists whose work considered environmental issues, as well as sustainability practitioners (including academics) interested in communicating climate change. The arts practicum permitted those present to exchange ideas and to experiment with different techniques for representing climate change. Through formal activities (e.g. activities at a local school, workshops) as well as unstructured creative practice, a series of artworks were developed. These included material produced using digital media, sculpture, painting and photography; some of which was subsequently displayed at an exhibition in April 2015 at the Oceania Centre gallery. 1 Participants at the practicum were all resident in Fiji at the time interviews took place, with a majority being Fijian citizens; Fiji-resident practitioners from elsewhere in the world (Tonga, UK, Spain) also participated. Seven of ten participants had a primarily arts-based or communications background; the remaining three individuals were employed in climate change research or policy-making but with an active interest in the use of art for communication of climate change. Anonymised summary descriptions of the backgrounds of research participants are given in Table 1. Where we refer to participants subsequently, this is by number (e.g. Participant 3 or P3). Table 1 about here The aim of the present study is to identify and articulate the perspectives of those participating in the practicum. This was done in order to gain insights into their motivations, assumptions, and expectations concerning the use of visual arts to communicate climate, particularly in a Pacific context.
The first author of the present study conducted a series of ten individual interviews in situ towards the end of the arts practicum. We sought to examine subject matter ranging from the general (e.g. the role of art in communicating climate change) to the personal and spe ifi e.g. the ole of people s o e pe ie es i i fo i g thei app oa hes i o de to explore the range of influences upon, and objectives of, arts-based communication. As such, the interviews were designed to address the following research questions: 1. What a e pa ti ipa ts pe so al oti atio s fo e gagi g i li ate ha ge communication via the arts? 2. Ho ha e pa ti ipa ts o e pe ie es i fo ed thei app oa h to o u i ati g climate change? 3. What aspects of climate change are participants seeking to convey through their art; what are they aiming to achieve through the approaches adopted? 4. What are considered by participants to be the advantages and drawbacks of using art for the communication of climate change? 5. How do participants understand the tensions and interactions between arts and science-based ways of representing environmental problems such as climate change? 6. What do participants consider to be the practical and cultural considerations relevant for the effective and appropriate communication of climate change in the Pacific?
The advantage of using research interviews to address these questions is that this enables us to e a i e i detail pa ti ipa ts su je ti e positio s on the use of art to communicate climate changeincluding, but not limited to, the role of their own direct experiences, inspirations, expectations, motives and intentions. Given the centrality of subjectivity and the creative process to the generation of art (Lubart, 2001) we argue that pa ti ipa ts positions on these matters represent an important component within the broader topic of the use of artistic approaches in the communication of environmental issues (Klöckner, 2015;Dunkley, 2014;Curtis, 2009). Nevertheless, the use of research interviews in this way is not directly able to assess whetherand in which waysthe visual arts may influence audiences who encounter them, for example by changing their attitudes towards climate change. A further limitation of the present study to which we draw attention is the relatively small sample size of 10 interviewees; whereas this has enabled diverse insights to be presented, we cannot consider these to represent an exhaustive set of p a titio e s perspectives. We also note that interviewees have differing backgrounds; in particular, some interviewees bring to bear their lifetime experiences as Pacific Islanders, whereas others consider the research questions from a position as formal e pe ts ased i the region. Our focus throughout the analysis has been to draw out a range of viewpoints concerning key research themes, rather than to separate or compare these according to particular participant characteristics.
A semi-structured interview technique was utilised, enabling key themes and questions to be addressed, but allowing flexibility for more extensive elaboration or articulation of ideas i li e ith pa ti ipa ts o reflections and interests (Wolgemuth et al., 2015). Interviews lasted between 60 and 90 minutes and followed a protocol which began with general, openended questions and moved on to ask about more specific topics germane to the research questions. Participants were asked about their own background and interests, their points of view as to the role of the arts in communicating climate change, and their own experiences and expectations.
Participant interviews were recorded and subsequently transcribed for analysis. This was undertaken using template analysis, a form of thematic analysis entailing a systematic and structured approach to assessment of textual data (i.e. the interview transcripts) (King, 2012). Template analysis permits flexibility as regards the particular purpose of a study, allowing themes to be identified that relate both to a priori researcher categoriesin this case, pertaining to the research questions of the present studyas well as salient themes that emerge from the data (King, 2012).
The content and aesthetic properties of artwork produced by participants for the Eco Arts project is not the principal focus of the present study. However, we refer to the details of individual artworks he e this is ele a t to d a out the o te t of a pa ti ipa t s comments, and to provide further background to the project.

Themes arising from research interviews
Here we outline five themes derived from the analysis of interviews; within each of these we identify sub-themes in relation to the perspectives provided by project participants.
The primary themes identified relate closely to the research questions of the study, as well as salient topics emerging from discussions. We consider each of these in turn, providing supporting evidence and material in the form of participant quotes. Across these themes, e o side pa ti ipa ts pe spe ti es o : the oti atio s a d pu poses of usi g isual a t to communicate climate change; the concepts and ideas behind specific pieces of art; the benefits and limitations of using arts-based communication; and additional cultural and egio al o side atio s ele a t to pa ti ipa ts p a ti e.

Motivations for undertaking arts communication
The first theme of interest across the interviews concerned pa ti ipa ts oti atio s fo pursuing artistic approaches to the communication of climate change. Within this theme, e efe to pa ti ipa ts atio ales fo usi g isual a ts i this o te t; the pu poses for which arts communication is used, and the concepts and ideas applied by participants, are considered in subsequent themes as outlined below.
Firstly, participant 1 articulated their motivations in terms of a desire to highlight areas of life that he valued and that he considered could be lost or affected by climate change. In particular, this participant made reference to his sense that experiences and circumstances taken for granted in his own life were less certain in the future: I e ee thi ki g a out hat I lo e a d hat I ll iss a out it. Fo e a ple, if ou watch [a child] play on the beach, you think that in future people might not have that same opportunity.
In a similar way, P2 stressed her concern for those people across the Pacific who are especially vulnerable to climate change. In particular, this participant referred to her anxiety at the potential trauma for those in the islands of Kiribati at risk of losing their land and needing to relocate: "o ethi g that I eall o e ed a out he e is that i ea s this ou t [Ki i ati] a disappea . It s i edi le. "o the people ill ha e to go to othe pla es, they will lose their identity, their country. What about this psychologically? How will they feel? Imagine you live in Kiribati and someone told you that your country will disappear.
In many instances, participants referred to their own direct experiences of a changing climate in Fiji and the wider Pacific. Although not always articulated as directly motivating art, these e e ofte spoke of ith o e a d as a p efa e to pa ti ipa ts i te est i communicating and portraying climate change.
One striking example of such an occurrence was given by participant 3, who discussed at some length the impact of the tropical cyclone which had hit the Ha apai isla d g oup i To ga, the pa ti ipa t s ho e ou t , ea lie i the ea . As ell as a la ge pa t of these islands being devastated by this event, P3 referred in particular to the more personal impacts upon people living there: So that means there's no home, the plantations were destroyed. So it's a misery. It's so miserable. People are so stressed they don't know how to do -what to do… You have no idea how stressed the people are. They are really stressed about climate change.
Other smaller-scale but no less personal accounts of the impacts of climate change (as perceived by participants) were also provided. Participant 1 talked both of the flooding of his au t s house i Fiji a d of a ea to he e se e al g a e a ds had ee flooded rising sea levels. Participant 4 similarly spoke of how the walkway he used to take to school in his village was now beneath the sea.
A personal concern for the direct impacts of climate change was referred to elsewhere within the research interviews, including in the context of the links between climate change and vulnerable livelihoods in the Pacific. At other times, however, participants referred to more pragmatic and professional motivations for developing artistic approaches. Participant 5, for example, indicated an interest in enabling others to make connections between the causes and consequences of climate change: A lot of the issues and the problems that are happening here are not made here.
We e ha i g to deal ith othe people s [a tio s] asi all . "o it ould e g eat if people made those connections.
As well as expressing a motivation to use art to communicate climate change, there was also the view expressed that the reverse held true, as articulated by P9: You ould look at it the other way around as well, that climate change or environmental problems could trigger or ould i g a out good a t .
A related perspective for developing artistic approaches in this area was offered by two of the Fijian artists involved in the project, in terms of their need to obtain recognition and, ultimately, income from their art. Participant 6 discussed their life-long interest in promoting traditional Fijian designs in their carving and painting, but also explained the need for their art to sell. Likewise, P4 o se ed that it s eall ha d to e a a tist i Fiji… it s a st uggle to do this . Gi e the diffi ulties of ei g able to manage financially, P4 suggested that artistic interpretations of climate change provided an opportunity to achieve an income: We Fijians are only a few artists that have come up with the idea to work on o u i ati g li ate ha ge… The e a e o l a fe people doi g a t o ks on climate change. So maybe the demand in climate change in art may increase my market.

Purpose of arts communication
In addition to these motivations, participants also articulated a range of more specific purposes and objectives regarding the use of art to communicate climate change.
Principal among these was an intention to raise awareness about the issue of climate change. This was mentioned by participants both in the context of raising general awareness -fo e a ple that li ate ha ge is ealand with respect to more specific issues such as the need to adapt to particular problems. Participant 4, for example, asserts that they see thei ole as a a tist to e ou age people to u de sta d the i pacts of climate change.
Although participants at times presented a role for arts communication that was educational or instructive, at other times the use of art to communicate about climate change was presented an opportunity to catalyse a process of thinking or reflection on the topic. For example, P2 suggested that her art was intended as a form of story-telling, including in reference to a sculpture produced during the practicum which addressed the stress on freshwater systems in the Pacific (this is discussed further below).
Participant 7 spoke in terms of using arts communication to prompt people to ask critical questions both about the role of human action in causing climate change, and ways of responding to it: I'd like to ask the questions, put it out there for people to think about climate change, think about how they are contributing to climate change, think about how they could respond.
The use of an artistic approach to inspire action was mentioned by participants in several places. Participant 3 for example refers indirectly to adaptation where asserting that o u i ati g… through arts is a powerful way of convincing people to respond to the effe ts of li ate ha ge . Participant 4 likewise suggests that as well as climate change art efle ti g a se se of loss, this a also push people to a t at the sa e ti e .
Other participants referred to art having the potential to inspire positive responses and emotions in order better to address climate change. Participant 8, for example, mentions that I ould p efe to ha e a positi e espo se out of a a t o k… I do t feel that egati e ea tio s a e helpful, e ause people ill just tu a a f o the . In a similar way, P1 (whose work also encompasses projects to help communities adapt to climate change) e p esses the ie that hope is a desirable response to seek from the use of arts communication: At the end of the day climate change is happening, so you can't really feel [a g ]… But ou a ha e hope… I do feel bitter about it sometimes, but that's not going to work. So it's just giving community members hope that you're doing this not just for now but for your future generation. So what we're doing is trying to give people hope, basically.

Concepts and ideas used i parti ipa ts' art ork
Having considered what participants see as the more general purposes of using art to communicate climate change, we now turn to the types of concepts and ideas used in their own work. We focus in this section on pa ti ipa ts perspectives on four pieces of art produced during the practicum, each of which presented a different set of conceptual underpinnings in their communication of issues relating to climate change.
One of the artworks we consider here was a sculpture produced from found objects, produced primarily by P7. This was an approximately life-size model of an elderly man, assembled from plastic bottles and other wood and metal items found close to the island shore. The figure was designed to appear stooped and decrepit, and clutched a walking stick in one hand.
Participant 7 explained that the sculpture was intended to represent a person who has damaged himself through living an unhealthy life; this was is in turn presented as a metaphor for society harming itself through climate change as a result of its own actions. The sculpture is further contextualised to the Pacific in terms of illnesses and unhealthy habits endemic to the region: There are people who, the doctor says, you should stop drinking because it is contributing to your sugar level. The guy [presented in the sculpture] comes home, listens to the doctor because he's in pain [but] after two weeks or so he starts feeling better, he starts taking a drink or two, or three, and then he continues until he gets to feel those pai s agai . The the ife takes hi to the do to s… Whe he feels ette he epeats this sa e thi g agai … u til the da he gets his leg a putated.
The relationship between this recalcitrant patient and the wider actions of society are explained via the sculpture in terms of a refusal to act in our own interests: For this sculpture, although we know that climate change will hit us, that it's hitting us, we won't -so e of us o 't [ ha ge]… I wanted to show how vulnerable we are to climate change, which we contribute to. Although getting weaker, weaker, we won't change our ways for the better. I wanted people to see that if we don't change, if we don't ask ourselves those questions, we don't -we may die, not improving our wellbeing as well as those of others around us.
Further parallels are drawn between the unhealthy character and the damaging aspects of society, again in the context of the Pacific, where P7 relates poor food choices both to individual ill-health and wasteful production practices linked to climate change.
A different approach was taken by three of the project participants in the creation of a sand sculpture of traditional village close to the sea edge, which was filmed using time-lapse video as the tide covered it. As P6 explained, this enabled the creation of a small-scale simulation of the effects of climate change in a Fijian context: [There is] the shape of the Fijian bure [dwelling], the playing ground, the pig pen, a set-up of a real Fijian village. Sand is really easy to explain the message of sea rise. What will happen to a village? … I feel sorry for this village. Let's put ourselves in this situation. If it was a real village this is exactly what will happen.
It is notable in this instance that although this simple model is based on a potential consequence of physical climate change impacts, P6 s efle tio s o the p o ess e e both emotional and personal: It really touched me because I was looking at the villages start to wash away, my village, and I can imagine people running away, taking -looking for shelter… The place where they were born and brought up the whole of their life, and it is covered by water. This is your village. It's under water. It's really sad. Especially for me, because I'm an islander.
Another sculpture produced, in this instance by P2, was used to articulate concerns about freshwater use and risks to supply. The artist in this case used dead coral, twine and a metal tap (faucet) to produce a scene in which a dehydrated face and gasping mouth is shown trying to obtain a last drop of water. In conceiving of this piece, the artist explained her An artwork developed in the practicum in which elements of sculpture and photography were used, was designed by two participants to illustrate the relationship between consumerism and climate change. In this case, plastic soda bottles were filled with concrete and photographed being set alight against the backdrop of a well-known seascape in the capital Suva. According to the participants who worked on this (P5 and P10), several concepts were incorporated: the parallels between consumption (in economic terms) and the bottles consumed by flames; the remnants of dirty carbon and pollutants from these processes; and the setting of the sea with its significance for island life, as well as the risks from rising sea levels.

Benefits and limitations of arts communication
The advantages of using artistic approaches to communicate climate change were typically articulated in terms of the unique capacity of art to incorporate a role for emotion, to speak to audiences in a different way to technical or scientific material, and for artistic approaches to be able to be left open to interpretation.
Participant 1 discusses the advantages of using art in the context of audiences who may be unfamiliar with, or unreceptive to, scientific communication: A distinction between the capacities of art and science to communicate climate change was also made by participant 8, who argued similarly that: You've got to have a variety of ways of getting information over to different people. Art is one way. There are certain people that respond to [academic] papers and figures and statistics, and there are people that respond to getting involved with making art.
Again, the capacity for artistic approaches to address topics in ways that may be more accessible to those unfamiliar with scientific approaches and terminologyparticularly in a Fijian contextwas outlined by P4: Actually a lot of people don't understand what terms in science mean. So we normally understand English, but a lot of climate change things are coming through in terms of s ie e… So I think villages, from my point of view as a villager, they understand more in art.
Whereas the emotional component and potential for interpretation and provocation was referred to across the interviews, for P4 this was also considered to have both benefits and drawbacks. In the latter sense, it was argued that differing perspectives on a piece of work inhibited the ability to convey a straightforward message about a topic such as climate change: As an artist if you've got an idea to put inside an artwork, you don't know if that is the idea of so e od else [ ie i g the o k]… So you can't use artwork to send your message through, unless you talk to him or you just write a piece of paper you stick on the side of your artwork... Because we have different views of what is going on inside that canvas.
The limitations and drawbacks of using artistic approaches were also seen often in more practical and pragmatic terms. In particular, several participants referred to the limited opportunities and space for audience interaction with artwork in Fiji and across the Pacific region. I this ei , P a gued that: Especiall if e e talki g a out the Pa ifi a d Fiji, the art community is so small, so you only reach a fraction of [the people] you want to reach .

Cultural and regional considerations
Some important features of culture in Fiji and the Pacific we have considered alreadyfor example, the impacts already experienced and expected in this part of the world and how these e e i teg ated i pa ti ipa ts a t o k. It is also i po ta t to ote that ultu e is not a phenomenon that can somehow be separated either from the lines of argument used pa ti ipa ts o people s e pe ie es. Ne e theless, it is useful to o side he e so e additional aspects referred to directly by participants, in order to place the project and the role of arts communication in an appropriate cultural and regional context.
Firstly, although the p a ti u itself a d pa ti ipa ts app oa hes e e fo ussed upo climate change, for many participants this held meaning and associations beyond the scientific conception of this term. In particular, across the interviews participants referred to their concerns about local pollution of the environment and their emphasis upon this in their art. The problem of plastic was a common thread referred to as requiring awareness and action, and as illustrative more broadly of a lamentable disregard shown for the environmentboth on land and for the sea. Participant 7, fo e a ple, e a ked that for us in the village setting, with plastics you either burn it, or you bury them… ithout ealisi g that it's our plasti ags that kill the tu tles . Like ise P6 indicated that a message he ished to o e th ough his a t as to i i ise pollutio , hate e ou du p i the sea, be careful of dumping rubbish because the marine life you can damage, you can kill fish .
The importance of Christianity in the Pacific islands was also stressed by several participants. Participant 3 referred to his own experience that a large proportion of people in Tonga understood climate change to be under the control of God. Participant 6 also placed climate change firmly in a religious context, extending to the assertion that climate ha ge is i this se se o al a d to the eed to p a : I a e te sio of his etapho used to depi t the old a s ulptu e, as dis ussed a o e, P7 made broader reference to the tensions between traditional island, village life, and modern, urban living. In this sense, the issues relating to climate change, environmental problems, and unhealthy or unwise practices, become bound up in the way of life of many people in contemporary Fiji as P7 sees them: If ou li e o a isla d, the t ees ill e g o i g, ou ll al a s ha e f uit all ea ou d. But ost of us, despite this, ill lea e the isla ds. We ll go to the u a centres and we become like that old man. We drink excessively or we smoke excessively, we eat noodles and canned fish instead of fresh fish.
Pe spe ti es su h as these illust ate that the otio of li ate ha ge a d i deed hat constitutes art communication cannot be easily delineated. It may however be the case that interpretation and portrayal through the arts have a unique opportunity to consider where climate change and other environmental problems intersect with cultural, contemporary and regional issues.

Discussion
Through a series of research interviews undertaken with artists and climate change practitioners, the present study has uncovered a range of perspectives concerning the motivations, hopes and creativity of this group of individuals, who have set out to use artistic approaches in their communication of this pressing issue. We have outlined some of the ways in which the different facets of climate changewhether in terms of physical impacts, or in relation to personal experiences or wider social contextshave informed their points of view. The aims and aspirations of participants were explored, both in terms of the purposes for which they have developed artwork, and the underlying concepts and ideas on which they have drawn. Finally, we have set out to identify pa ti ipa ts ie s o the benefits and drawbacks of the use of visual arts to communicate climate change, and the cultural contexts within which this has occurred.
An important unifying feature across participant interviews was the way in which climate change is recognised to be a part of the contemporary reality of the Pacific. Whether through reflections upon small-scale, personal changes, or by reference to current and futu e i pa ts at ou t a d egio al le el, pa ti ipa ts e pe ie e a d u derstanding of climate change informed and motivated their artistic approaches. Such a connection et ee people s e pe ie e of li ate ha ge a d thei su se ue t eliefs a d a tio s has now been observed more generally across a range of research studies (e.g. Reser et al., 2014). Although we do not make strong claims here about a direct causal effect of experience, nevertheless the present study points to a potentially important but, to date, overlooked role for experience in informing creative approaches and communication of climate change.
Several participants also identified a different set of reasons for engaging in these approaches. This may be summed up as a reversal of a p e ise that a t should a t i the service of climate change: for some participants, there was a recognition of an opportunity instead for this prominent issue to inform their art, or to make it marketable. In the case of climate change inspiring interesting or provocative art, this has been discussed previously by writers such as Nu is ho st esses the alue of li ate ha ge a t as esse tiall a tisti athe tha se i g a i st u e tal o a ti ist fu tio , su h as p omoting action or change in attitudes. Here, the role of the arts may also be conceived as enabling new types of understanding (Gabrys and Yusoff, 2012) or offering different ways of imagining and encountering the environment (Duxbury, 2010).
In instances where participants did affirm they wished to pursue particular purposes or ends, a common thread was to raise awareness and/or to prompt people to act on climate change. This view of environmental art as seeking to effect positive change is reflected often in the wider literature, to the extent that it may be seen even as a typical feature of the work of artists operating in this area. Dunkley (2014) for example has argued that a growing trend in arts-based movements in the UK has been an intention to enable a more sustainable society and way of life. Reflecting the position of many of our research participants, McKenzie (2008) has argued that a t is i alua le as a fo of ultu al edu atio i the o te t of li ate ha ge, se i g su h functions as communicating its likely impacts and helping to support people reducing their own carbon emissions.
As to the concepts applied within the artworks themselves, interviews with participants revealed rich and complex considerations of the relationships between individuals, communities, contemporary ways of life, and the consequences of climate change in the Pa ifi . I the ase of the old a s ulptu e, fo e a ple, the ole of i di idual a tio i causing climate change was recognised, but in terms that saw human behaviour and habits as incorporating tendencies to self-destruction and folly, that were not exclusive to environmental problems.
Both in the case of this piece of art, and other approaches that were presented in terms of story-telling and the use of metaphorical devices, can be found a potentially fruitful approach to engaging an audience with climate change. A series of studies now affirms the advantages of narrative approaches to communicate scientific concepts (Dahlstrom, 2014), including climate change (Fløttum and Gjerstad, 2017). Indeed, the advantages of using an artistic approach was presented typically as enabling different aspects of climate change to be communicated; in particular, to express and use emotion, and to connect with people and ideas in ways that formal, scientific communication could not. In this way, there exists the potential for wider discussions and interpretations to be enabled. The types of concerns articulated across the research interviewsthe contradictions inherent within us, the sense of loss from a changing world, our reliance on consumer societywould seem to be particularly amenable to artistic consideration.
As Crimmin (2008) argues, artists have often seen it as their role to question received notions of progress as well as the relationships between society and the environment. Notions of progressand the alternatives that may be left behindwere indeed raised directly during the course of the research interviews in the present study, and used to highlight aspects of Fijian culture pertaining to the relationship between people and their environment.
It is important, finally, to note the centrality of Christianity to Fijian and wider Pacific culture, and the likely implications this holds for understanding and addressing climate change. Although none of the artwork produced during the practicum had an overtly eligious asis, efe e e as ade pa ti ipa ts to thei o a d othe s Christian perspectives. Given the implicit ethical and moral dimensions to climate change, including with respect to personal responsibilities and duty towards the natural environment (Posas, 2007) this connection may be a valuable area for exploration in future research and arts practice. The argument for a closer consideration of the role of religion (including but not limited to Christianity) in tackling climate change in the Pacific islands, has been taken up by Haluza-DeLay (2014) who suggests that the role of faith is important for understanding how people make sense of climate change, and for developing effective communication in this area.
The present study has focussed upon the perspectives of artist-practitioners, rather than the reaction or interpretation of an audience to this manner of climate change communication. While this is itself a limitation to the research, we suggest that important questions are nevertheless raised by the arguments put forward by the artists, that warrant attention in future research with audiences. In particular, many of the interviewees assert a clear intention to raise awareness, promote understanding, or to convince people to respond to climate change. Despite these aspirations, it cannot be assumed however that the artwork produced had the potential to bring about such effects. Indeed, there may be a disjuncture between the desire to inspire understanding and positive responses, and the typical tenor of pieces produced, which for the most part emphasised and represented the negative or upsetting consequences of climate change. e p esses ala a out a te de to utilise apo al pti i agery; this autho a gues that this esults i a t that a e poig a t, ut falls out of step ith the p ofessed oti atio s of a tists . A lea eed fo futu e esea h the efo e is a assessment of the consequences of artistic communication for those who encounter it, in order to ascertain its efficacy or lack thereof.
Even in a situation where arts communication approaches are able to engage both artists and audiences, a broader question remains as to the potential for such approaches to be utilised and expanded in a practical sense. Whereas it has been argued that the arts thrive in Pacific communities, this has often been in a manner that is poorly integrated with development funds and objectives (Teaiwa and Huffer, 2017).
A recent approach which has sought to integrate the visual arts in a Pacific community context, with these trialled in Vanuatu, is the European Union-funded Pacific Vocational Education and Training in Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Adaptation project (EU PacTVET; see Hemstock et al., 2017;Bartlett, 2016). This project has developed teaching resources which aim to explore and apply the perceived personal impacts and experiences of learners to climate change in their behavioural responses (such as installing water tanks for rainwater collection) or beliefs (such as whether climate change is a human-induced or supernatural phenomenon). It is hoped that the inclusion of creative approaches to climate change communication in a formal educational environment may yield positive results in this current and ongoing programme of work. In this way, the types of perspectives and insights revealed in the present study may have the potential to offer broader implications for communities in the region. "o e , L. a d Klö k e , C. , What ha a te ises li ate ha ge elated a t that a ti ates the audie e? A stud o the A tCOP e e t i Pa is , pape p ese ted at the International Conference on Environmental Psychology, 30 August -1 September, A Coruña, Spain.
, You g isla de s, the eteo ologi al i agi atio , a d the a t of geopoliti al e gage e t , Children's Geographies, Vol. 13 No. 2,.

P1
Professional graphic designer and climate change communications officer from Fiji. Works using photography and digital media.

P2
Professional artist originally from Spain, resident in Fiji. Works using painting and sculpture.

P3
Professional climate change adviser and doctoral student from Tonga studying impacts of climate change on health and well-being in Tonga.

P4
Professional artist from Fiji. Works using paint, lino prints, and carving.

P5
Professional climate change and bioenergy researcher, with experience exhibiting artworks using installations, painting and sculpture.

P6
Professional artist from Fiji. Works using wood carving and painting P7 Professional artist and art curator from Fiji. Works using metal sculptures, print making, and wood carving.

P8
Professional climate change officer working in local government, based in the UK. P9 Professional artist and art curator based in Fiji. Works using print aki g, ood a d e li g fou d ate ials.

P10
Professional artist from Fiji. Works using paint and wood carving.