Harita Kalvai: Youth Action Through Art

Climate activism has always been a big passion of mine, but I never felt like there was a good avenue for me to pursue it. While I always found conservation efforts and individual actions important, I felt as though I was lacking a space for me to pursue it with intersectionality. I wanted to dedicate myself to a cause that viewed climate change and environmentalism through an intersectional perspective – such as environmental justice. Through Art Works for Change, I was able to create this pathway for myself, and help other youth in Marin dedicate themselves to environmental justice, through art.

Before creating an internship for myself through Art Works for Change, I was (and am still!) involved in my local Citizens’ Climate Lobby chapter. It was through this that I met Al, who mentioned that he was interested in finding interns for Art Works for Change. As someone who loves art, especially in writing, this was something that really stood out to me. Using art as activism was something I had really considered for a long time, because it is such a universal language. This is what ultimately drew me to working with Art Works For Change!

Throughout the first few months of my sophomore year, I worked with Al and other community leaders to create Words To Live By, a poetry event featuring teen poets’ voices surrounding climate action. With narratives featuring wildfire anxiety, environmental justice in marginalized communities, and even presentations by keynote speakers, Words To Live By was an event that managed to connect the climate community, even through a global pandemic. It made me realize that there was a home for international climate activism in Marin, and that events like these could spark bigger discussions.

With this in mind, and with the help of Art Works for Change, I formed Youth Action Through Art, a youth climate organization dedicated to intersectional environmentalism through art. Youth Action Through Art, partnered with Art Works for Change and the local Citizens’ Climate Lobby chapter, hosted many art-centered events, such as a gallery at Earth 2050 in Mill Valley, and an interactive art exhibit in Oakland at the E14 gallery. These events were centered around the idea of the world in the future and the effect climate change might have on society.

The “Youth” in Youth Action Through Art was also a big focus of ours. In 2022, we created a climate curriculum for Marin schools. Focused around local climate issues, this interactive, art based curriculum also centered around the concept of the future. It was interesting getting to understand the perspectives of younger students on climate change. While many did in fact think the world would end up as a dystopian wasteland, just as many believed that there was hope for the future, given the right kind of action. It was empowering to see that kids still had hope for the future, despite the narrative that climate change was an issue that could never be solved.

The tools that Art Works for Change has given me have helped me throughout my entire high school experience. I got to truly dedicate myself to a cause that I was so passionate about, while gaining quantitative work experience in the process. I’ve gotten to meet so many amazing people and learn so much about the environmental movement that I would have never learned otherwise. I am currently a freshman at UC Irvine, and the work I did with Art Works for Change made me realize how interested I might be in a career centered around public policy, especially in the relation to the environment.

Most of all, my work with Art Works for Change has taught me how much there is that I can still learn about environmental justice and policy. My internship gave me the tools to learn about these things to the fullest extent, and they are tools I can’t wait to keep using!