Artivism for Cleaner Air? An Exploration of the Artistic Representation of “Haze” in Southeast Asia

Abstract

Art has long mediated human-non-human relationships. As anthropogenic environmental change intensifies, a new phenomenon of art-based activism, otherwise known as "artivism”, is emerging, though much of the literature on the topic focuses on Western contexts. Comparing two art exhibitions in Chiang Mai and Kuala Lumpur dedicated to ‘haze'–a recurrent air pollution phenomenon in Southeast Asia–our paper offers the first analysis of the role ‘artivism’ plays in the public environmental discourse in a non-Western context. By examining the curation, artworks (n = 144), and media coverage of these exhibitions, we found that haze artivism simultaneously instigates material, affective, and idealist pathways for driving social change. We show that art has successfully transcended the otherwise seasonal, episodic nature of the haze experience to advocate for environmental action even when skies are clear. The exhibitions create physical, cognitive, and political spaces in which progressive and critical opinions can be voiced publicly. They bridge grassroots environmentalism and mainstream environmental politics in otherwise censored and regulated civil societies in Southeast Asia. We argue that art holds the power to navigate Southeast Asia's challenging landscape in environmental politics, and much could be learnt from the region as climate-hostile politics gain traction internationally.