From Citizens to Planetizens: Mobilizing the Power of Socially Engaged Art to Reimagine Climate Futures

The idea of citizenship signals our commitment to democracy, but citizenship has always been an exclusive notion. Throughout history and today, definitions of who “counts” as a citizen have separated insiders from outsiders, positioning some people as superior over other human and non-human beings. What if we extended the idea of citizenship to planetizenship, resituating humans as members of a shared planet?

The workshop will bring together educators, artists, and student leaders to share their visions for how shifting our perspectives from citizenship to planetizenship might undo hierarchies and borders, engaging across gender, age, class, race, ability, species, machines, and matter in order to collectively remake our planetary futures. Join us to explore the power of artistic practice as a process of unlearning and learning anew as we begin to radically reimagine and re-build relationships with one another and planetizens of all kinds – human, animal, spirit, vegetal, microbial, mineral, AI/machinic, along with landscapes, cityscapes, skyscapes, and waterscapes.