Jen Rae, UW–Madison’s Interdisciplinary Artist-in-Residence, co-founder and creative research lead for the Centre for Reworlding
It has become starkly apparent that the challenges climate change poses are far more severe and complex than anticipated, with existing systems and ways of thinking poorly equipped to manage. Without the luxury of time, there is an urgency in finding new ways to collaborate, experiment, plan and shift the paradigm of climate emergency engagement and disaster resilience.
In this talk, Rae will share her unique approach to art and climate adaptation working with communities, artists, local government and emergency services in disaster preparedness rehearsals and labs where failure, risk, experimentation, and play become ‘learning together’ ingredients for navigating complexities and unknowns. Grounded in First Nations knowledge systems, her work addresses colonization, intergenerational justice, and resilience, offering insight into how creative methodologies and speculative futuring can support communities to form deeper transdisciplinary collaborations focused on disaster preparedness and resilience…where we might find ‘joy work’ in desperate times.