What kind of role can art and its methods play in just sustainability transformations?

Punos is currently running the projects Whose Climate, Whose Futures? and Seeds for Solidarity commissioning collaborative artworks by artist groups committed to advancing global climate justice. We work in close cooperation with artists and our interest lies in the importance of imagination in building livable, loveable, and sustainable futures.

The first Punos Commission, Orodansádji – A Place to Be, was created by Jenni Laiti, Merethe Kuhmunen and Sunna Nousuniemi in 2021–2022. It focuses on the Sámi people’s right to self-determination, climate justice, and queerness in the context of Sámi culture. Preparations for A Place to Be have taken place in different parts of the Sápmi region, and the work is based on dialogue, both online and face-to-face. A Place to Be delves into the themes of rest, renewal, and intergenerational togetherness through duodji (Sámi crafts), the Northern Sámi language, and sound works.

The second Punos Commission, Acts of Love by Ama Josephine Budge, curator and artist, was initiated in early 2022. This work highlights questions of anti-racism, care and responsibility in the context of artistic work and art institutions. Budge makes tangible and deconstructs the systemic processes of power that must be identified and deconstructed in order to achieve sustainable and just worlds.

For 2023 Punos has invited the project partners Indigenous Climate Futures Embassy, the collective S.U.R., and independent curator Hung-Fei Wu to create a programme of public events, art commissions, creative collaborations and discussions that is urgent from their points of view.

The underlying idea is that the works facilitated by Punos will become intertwined, forming a new type of arts ecosystem in the long term.