Last fall, I read The Creative Act by music producer Rick Rubin about how creative expression is the key to a meaningful life. As a conservation campaigner, I am constantly thinking about how to get people who love nature to advocate for it. But in my day-to-day that looks like conversations and emails, not painting or drawing.
I started wondering if there was something I was missing. How could we connect advocacy for nature with the creativity that brings us joy? So I started dreaming up something new and different: Artvocacy.
What is Artvocacy?
Artvocacy is a program that brings together emerging and amateur artists across the Okanagan to use their creative practice to advocate for nature. Through education, experiences, artistic masterclasses and mentorship, participants develop original projects that connect their artistic voice to real conservation issues. They also learn how to use that work to engage their communities and decision-makers. The program is free for all participants and culminates in a public exhibition in the fall.
Starting with education, participants are welcomed through a month-long series of webinars that build on one another about protected areas, Indigenous-led conservation, species-at-risk, how government works, public advocacy, nervous system support for working in the environmental world, media relations and storytelling.
Woven throughout are in-person field trips that get participants out of their screens and into their bodies. A BC Nature guided walk with the South Okanagan Naturalist Club took participants to Munson Mountain Park. Participants also visited NTAMTQEN Community Garden in Lower Similkameen Indian Band territory and learned about Indigenous food sovereignty. Coming up next is a walk with the Central Okanagan Naturalist Club to explore water management issues in the Bellevue Creek watershed.
Then come the artistic masterclasses—and this is where I’ve seen some of the most unexpected magic happen. Professional artists host workshops in writing, visual art and photography, giving participants space to hone their technical skills, experiment with new mediums and get feedback on their work.
It all comes together when the program culminates in a final exhibition where participants present their keystone projects after three months of creation over the summer. Decision-makers and community members like you will be invited to come together and see what our artists created.
How it came together
Artvocacy came to life through the enormous support of Aleesha Switzer, who gave me the trust and the space to try something new. Its shape and structure drew inspiration from CPAWS-BC’s Young Leaders in Conservation Program, where participants attend webinars on conservation and advocacy, learn about lobbying and ultimately travel to Victoria to meet with MLAs in person.
Why the Okanagan?
The Okanagan felt like the obvious home for the pilot year of the program. CPAWS-BC and many partners have been working to make the South Okanagan-Similkameen National Park Reserve a reality for over twenty years. A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Government of Canada, the Province of BC and the Syilx/Okanagan Nation in 2019. This special place is so close to being protected and we can’t stop now.
We also found a great partner for this program in the Penticton and District Community Arts Council (PDCAC). Tristan, the Executive Director, has helped bring Artvocacy to life! There is a bustling, vibrant arts community in Penticton and across the Okanagan and Tristan knew exactly how to plug us into it. We even rented a space at the PDCAC House that acts as the program hub, where artists gather to create, watch webinars and attend masterclasses. We are also so fortunate to have the support of the Central Okanagan Arts Council throughout.
What I’m learning
The most moving thing so far is seeing that the program is having a real impact. Participants are taking risks I didn’t expect. One participant said they weren’t a writer — “at least not an English writer” — and then published an op-ed in Castanet on World Migratory Bird Day.
“Artvocacy really helped me understand how activism and advocacy work. It’s like a road map guiding you through the maze of public advocacy. How to use art to illustrate your concerns about the natural world and conservation.”
-Lyse Deselliers
Art and advocacy don’t have to look the same. You don’t have to paint a picture that literally explains why protecting 30% of BC by 2030 matters. You just have to find the subtle through-line that connects them. Take Lyse’s op-ed: you wouldn’t think cats killing birds connects to 30×30 or the South Okanagan-Similkameen National Park Reserve. But it does. We need safe, protected, connected habitat for migratory birds to rest, eat and live.
What’s next
I would love to see Artvocacy reach more rural places across BC. I continuously hear from people I meet that this program is so needed by artists! There aren’t enough support and opportunities to deepen their creative practice whilst learning about the government, how to advocate for nature and how to become more politically engaged. Merging art with the environmental community has never been more important.
“I’m so grateful for my experience with Artvocacy. I have felt a renewed passion and drive towards creating art that promotes the enjoyment and protection of our beautiful surroundings.”
-Kait Dean
A closing thought
The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only transformed. Which means every input must become an output. People are constantly absorbing emotion, stress, noise and expectations. When there is nowhere for that energy to go, entropy increases. It’s no wonder many of us are experiencing mental fatigue, anxiety and burnout.
This is why creativity feels therapeutic. Writing, painting, running, singing, dancing — these are outputs. Ways for your nervous system to transform what you carry rather than drown in it.
Artvocacy has been a wild ride. But I am so proud that it is happening. And that it is slowly starting to reveal itself for the impact it can truly bring about.
