How to Make a Big Event and what we learned
Pictures and Community Report from The Art of Change - Chapter 1: Sounds.
On February 12th, 2024, we made this together, with our community:
But actually our story starts here, in July of 2023:
Paige DMs me on Instagram saying that she has a friend in the symphonic sphere and OF COURSE I am absolutely on board with the idea of making a climate-themed music event because I have never heard of that before in my life and it definitely needs to be a thing?
Just one small detail: I (Victor) have just moved to Montréal and am trying to rebuild my entire life after quitting my job and moving across the country, and Paige is also Busy with work and travel.
So, obviously, we decide to put the idea on hold for four months (!!!)
November 22nd, 2023 is literally the first time I am meeting Erica Binder (over Zoom) and I have no idea what to expect (she’s amazing). Here, I found our meeting notes:
Interestingly, in the same meeting, we decide to set a Very Realistic timeline of less than 12 weeks to:
figure out what we're even doing (and how to actually do it)
find musicians
find a venue
advertise
and also find funding (huh??)
The next few months are a blur.
We meet weekly on Zoom. Paige and I work on grant applications non-stop (and our funding magically appears in the form of Frankie from Ocean.org ❤️). Erica secures a venue, figures out equipment, and finds a string quartet willing to go along with our ideas. I make posters and Erica prints them. We crystallize around a big theme.
We want to use the arts as a way to connect with individuals. The arts allow us to create space for emotions and thus build personal capacity. If we can help people navigate change, then those people will be more resilient and be better equipped to support their communities in turn.
Something that emerged for me personally is that this work extends beyond addressing the climate crisis. And of course it should. The climate crisis does not exist in a vacuum—if we truly want to tackle the root causes, we need to go all the way back up the stream. The roots are systemic—and we believe they emerge from a lack of connection, community, and care. So our goal is no longer just about using music to move people, it's about using music as an excuse to get different people in the same room to talk about hard things.
And the event actually happens!
And our string quartet is incredible!
Read about how we created our music programming:
And our audience sings and listens and tells us about how they're feeling:
What emerged
Over the past two months I've been (slowly) transcribing and organizing all of the data we received. I did a very basic qualitative analysis and here's our report:
Key findings
There are big emotions around climate and community action. We need to keep making space for these in our communities.
We need multiple solutions on multiple scales. These might incorporate art, or changes in our built environment.
Solutions need to be nuanced, people want their questions to be heard. Strategies that use art are only the beginning.
It starts with connection. We need to empower communities.
Emotions
A lot of emotions emerged during our discussions, particularly hope, doubt, fear, sadness, and dread.
Hope (11)
"Hope in intergenerationality"
"It starts with a group of friends who share"
"Art can encourage people to take the next steps on [a] cause they're interested in"
"Hope in our closest relationships"
Doubt (4)
"Concert for a cause: but does it work?"
"Art works for people that already care"
Fear (3)
"Will home kill me?"
Sadness (3)
"...makes me feel sad for the animals and the large ice, forests, deserts, and vast landscapes affected"
Dread (2)
"Waiting for a disaster so big and personal that we can finally move beyond arguing and stalling"
Solutions
Participants identified and discussed potential solutions and strategies to address the issues they were facing. Some of them were directly related to using art, while others related to changing the urban environment around them.
Using art (15)
"Art expresses change/desire for change"
"Art to engage the masses"
"Coping through art"
"Photography as a consistently powerful means of triggering change"
"Art can encourage people to take the next steps on cause they're interested in"
Changes in urban planning (12)
"Meeting points, low barrier spaces for people to interact"
"Change name to remove colonial roots"
"Artist places needed in city planning"
"Community garden"
"Public gyms"
Criticisms
Multiple criticisms also emerged from participant discussions, around our society and as well on the effectiveness of using art as a strategy to tackle the crisis crisis. Notably, participants emphasized the importance of actual action and impact, and that art is just a beginning and not the end.
"Art works for people that already care"
"Unintended impacts of bad art"
"Funny how we keep insisting on the dichotomy between nature and ourselves"
"Talking about it vs. doing it"
"People don't pay attention to climate change until something bad happens personally to them"
"Participating in an artistic version of a cause can replace actual action against it"
Connection
Participants recognized the importance of building connection between one another, and how connection is essential.
"All struggles are connected"
"Sense of intimacy and trust with community"
Questions
Many more questions were asked by participants in response to the questions provided.
"Is our relationship of nature picturesque or sublime?"
"Hope in our closest relationships. How do we transfer that to the larger community?"
"Do we know our neighbours?"
"How do we articulate future dangers?"
"Value of interacting with neighbours?"
Final reflection
Our team learned a lot. Firstly, we are blown away by the participation. This really proves that it is possible to combine the arts and the sciences, and that meaningful community engagement can happen in creative and dynamic ways. Change can happen in a fun way. Bringing people together can (and should!) be joyful, interesting, sometimes uncomfortable, but ultimately empowering.
Most importantly, I hope that this event inspires other people (especially youth) to bring people together in their community. Anybody can be a leader. Sometimes it just starts with a DM.
Finally, we are so grateful to our participants, to our incredible team of volunteers, to our sponsors, and to our friends and family for making this event possible.
With love,
Victor (on behalf of Paige and Erica at Sword Fern Collective)
Made possible with support from Oceanwise, Youth Climate Lab, and Vibe Events.
Special thanks to Danielle Campani Photography, Chester, Eduardo, Warren, Dasha, Sayemin, Amé, Taya, and Owen.