Action as an antidote to despair: Western Resilience Center uses art to spark climate dialogue in Steamboat Springs

Climate change activism through art is taking center stage in Steamboat Springs during the month of March.

Western Resilience Center is leading a collaboration with local organizations and artists in presenting “Insight: Art for Climate Action” at Wildhorse Cinema & Arts. The show blends storytelling, science and activism and will be on display from March 3 to 29 in the Wildhorse lobby.

An opening celebration is scheduled for March 5 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and will be followed by other events including a film screening, children’s art day and an artists’ gathering with a focus on climate dialogue.

All events require registration and are free, aside from the film screening, which costs $7.

For Dagny McKinley, executive director of Wildhorse, the partnership represents a way to engage people in new and exciting ways regarding the climate and environment.

“What is exciting about this event is the art component,” McKinley said. “The beauty and power of art is that it allows for people to explore social issues in a nonconfrontational environment where big, often overwhelming issues like climate change can be brought into a human-scale room where people can sit side by side and process them together.”

Western Resilience Center Executive Director Michelle Stewart said human-to-human connection is at the center of the organization’s nonpartisan, science-based efforts to expand awareness.

“Our work at Western Resilience Center is focused on connecting knowledge-to-action, but we are very aware that action is not spurred by knowledge alone,” Stewart said. “As people, our actions are guided by our values, belief systems and trade-offs.”

Stewart added that art and storytelling create space for a shared appreciation of Yampa Valley narratives related to climate change.

“We can gather around a painting or a piece of art that touches each of us in different ways for different reasons,” Stewart said. “This ability to connect and share appreciation for the Yampa Valley is a core asset to us.”

“Insight” began in 2023 as a one-night gala and auction designed to raise funds for the center’s climate work. In its first two years, the event raised $108,000 and engaged more than 40 local artists.

“This year, we took the pressure off fundraising and truly centered the mission of the event: the art and the artists,” Stewart said.

With support from Wildhorse and Alpine Bank, one of the event’s key sponsors, “Insight” became a monthlong exhibition where artwork will be available for purchase at set prices rather than through an auction. The proceeds will benefit both the artists and Western Resilience Center.

Abby Vander Graaff, the center’s communications manager and strategist, said art can cut through the emotional and political noise that often surrounds climate discussions.

“Sometimes, words aren’t enough,” Vander Graaff said. “The gravity of the climate crisis is overwhelming, and it’s easy for our brains to shut down or for conversations to quickly become political.”

She said that the pieces on display will remind viewers of their connection to place, to one another and to the environment.

“They bring an emotion and sense of ownership to why we do our work that is hard to capture any other way,” she said. “They remind us that you don’t have to be a climate scientist or work at a nonprofit to be part of the solution.”

This year, 47 artists are participating. Vander Graaff said many pieces center on hope, connection and action.

For local artist Jill Bergman, of The Alley Gallery and Art Studios, the show brings together art, science and advocacy.

“This will be my third year both as a participating artist and helping plan ‘Insight’,” she said. “The show combines several things that are very important to me, communicating climate issues and actions, artwork with a storytelling component and working with local artists.”

Bergman explained that she grew up in a family of scientists, and as a result focuses much of her work on wildlife, habitat and biodiversity.

“In the Western states, we are all dependent on the river systems that begin with snowmelt high in the mountains,” she said. “Because of our long-term drought, it is important to conserve and use water thoughtfully.”

Artist Simone White, a member of the “Insight” steering committee, sees her work as part of a larger conversation as her landscapes act as records of relationship rather than simple scenery.
“I want the work to pull people in with beauty and familiarity, and then confront them with the reality underneath,” White said.

Ann Feldman, also of the Alley Gallery and Art Studios, painted a western sky filled with clouds as a storm approaches, which she said captures literal and figurative senses of beauty and threat.

“As our environment becomes more volatile with global warming, the horizon can be both beautiful and frightening at the same time,” Feldman said.

Beyond the exhibition, organizers hope related events can deepen engagement and extend dialogue. On March 19, the center will host a screening of “The Human Element,” which will be followed by a panel discussion connecting the film’s themes to impacts in the Yampa Valley and across the American West.

On March 22, “Insight for Kids: Create Day” will offer family-friendly art stations that focus on creativity and environmental issues. Vander Graaff said climate anxiety is real for young people and that action can help counter those feelings.

“We see on our team that action can often be an antidote to despair,” she said. “Kids need to be empowered to feel agency and hope in the face of scary issues.”

An Eco Art Collective meeting on March 26 will provide artists with tools and examples of how creative work can support advocacy. Vander Graaff said the goal is to help participants see climate action as something rooted in community rather than division.

“Most people agree there is a problem to be solved,” she said. “The education and ideas around how we get there are where we hope good conversations will take place.”

Stewart said she hopes visitors leave reflecting on what makes the valley unique and worth protecting.

“There’s a role for all of us as individuals in relation to our community,” she said.

For more information, visit WesternResilience.org/Insight.