The nature and complexity of 21st century environmental challenges are unprecedented in their urgency and potential consequences for human societies and the natural environment. Artists and designers have often taken the lead in responding to environmental challenges, and this course provides students in art, design and media art with an understanding of the nature of the global environmental challenge and the ways in which art and design have responded to it.

This course will introduce the major thematics of contemporary environmental science and provide a critical framework for understanding the way artworks, artists, design projects and designers have engaged with and addressed environmental concerns. You will discuss solo practitioners operating at the local/DIY/ARI level, through to major international artists and designers and the foremost international institutions in this arena. A range of material will be provided to allow you to situate your art and design practice in both local-scale and global-scale contexts.

The course aims to prepare you for the increasingly important roles that ‘environment’ and ‘sustainability’ are playing across all sectors of society, including in art and design. It will equip you with the ability to understand current global trends in environmental sustainability, and techniques and strategies for how art and design can contribute to the response to such challenges.