To mark Youth Empowerment Day at the COP26 climate summit, Glasgow Life and Glasgow Education have launched Create4Glasgow, an open call inviting young people to design an artwork to raise awareness and help their city fight climate change.
Supported by Bloomberg L.P, Create4Glasgow offers the opportunity to respond to three environmental concerns identified by young people in a wide-ranging survey led by Glasgow Education: air pollution, water pollution, and the destruction of vulnerable communities.
Taking inspiration from Glasgow’s Asphalt Art Initiative, the open call invites young people across Glasgow to submit a piece of art – from song lyrics to poems, drawings to short films – that will raise awareness of the environmental priorities and will be developed with local artists.
The open call will run until December 1 and applicants are invited to share their artworks with the hashtag #Create4Glasgow or to upload their file to www.create4glasgow.com. 12 projects will be taken forward for workshops to develop the ideas in Spring 2022 with Glasgow Life’s 23 Artists in Residence. The projects selected will be chosen in collaboration with young people from Glasgow.
“On this utterly important Youth Empowerment Day, this is the signal we were looking for. It is time now to engage ourselves. The climate crisis is an urgent issue which affects everyone, including people here in Glasgow. I’m looking forward to working with friends and artists to design something which will make Glasgow greener and will inspire people around the world to take action”, explains Patrick, 12 from Glasgow.
Create4Glasgow is led by Glasgow Life and Glasgow Education, with the support of Bloomberg L.P.
The project is inspired by Glaswegian artist, Gabriella Marcella’s ‘Waterworks‘, an innovative installation which uses public art to beautify the entrance to Glasgow’s Anderston Station whilst providing a low-maintenance way to reduce flood risk.
David McDonald, Deputy Leader of the Council and Chair of Glasgow Life said:
“The Create4Glasgow initiative is a great way for the young people of Glasgow to actively participate in climate conversations. This project aims to empower and engage pupils across the city to express their views in a creative way and offers a chance for their voices to be heard both locally and internationally. As our city hosts COP26 – the most important climate summit of our time – the need for action is abundantly clear. The future state of our planet will impact generations to come, so it is vital for our young people of today to play a central role in our work to tackle climate concerns. I look forward to seeing the artwork that our young people submit.”
Jemma Read, Global Head of Corporate Philanthropy at Bloomberg L.P said:
“Young people have a unique stake in the future of our planet. We know that art can play a powerful role in raising awareness and galvanising action, so we’re delighted to support this innovative project that will harness the creativity of Glasgow’s young people and build on the legacy of COP26.”
