OUTCOMES AND RESPONSES TO THE CLIMATE MURAL
Public engagement and outreach
The Climate Mural is the focus of ongoing engagement and outreach with the public, with schools and with the wider community.
Examples of these activities are recorded here.
Norwich Science Festival (20 Feb 2025) Discover the Climate Change and Norfolk paintings at City Hall as part of the 2025 Norwich Science Festival. Details to be announced.
Norwich U3A (University of the Third Age) event (17 Oct 2024) Details here Hosted by Norfolk U3A, this event saw U3A members learn about the mural, the underlying science and the political context of climate change. Attendance 35 people.
Visual Earth - article in One Earth (15 Dec 2023) here (One Earth article) One Earth is Cell Press’ flagship sustainability journal. One of the aims of the journal is to break down barriers between scientific disciplines, but also between science and society. One of the ways they seek to do this is by featuring artwork in our unique article type – Visual Earth. This article showcases the climate mural and the science communication message it conveys.
Norwich 2040 Local Education Partnership event (19 Oct 2023) Hosted by Norfolk 2040 Local Education Partnership and Norwich City Council, this was an informal event for local education actors to view the mural and discuss with the artist and scientists involved how it might be used to prodive educational opportunities for teachers and students of all ages ranging across the sciences, arts and humanities.
Kick the Dust Creative Response (27 Jan 2023, 10 Feb 2023) here (website) (archived copy) Organised by Norfolk Museums Service, Kick the Dust provide an opportunity for young people aged 11-25 to work on a creative response to the mural. As part of this, they will join a guided tour of the mural.
Norwich Science Festival (17 Feb 2023) here (website) (archived copy) Discover the Climate Change and Norfolk paintings at City Hall. These are tours of the mural as part of the 2023 Norwich Science Festival, linked to a 'Climate Explorers' activity run by UEA (specifically by members of the Climatic Research Unit and the Tyndall Centre).
Political responses and actions
The Climate Mural aims to remind policy makers and other decision makers of the importance of accounting for the climate change challenge in their decision making. Examples of these outcomes are recorded here.
"Facing up to a challenged planet" by Alan Waters, leader of Norwich City Council (8 Feb 2023) here (Municipal Journal article) A mural hanging in Norwich City Council chamber is a vivid portrayal of the challenges posed by climate change and its impacts in the past, the present, and the future, says Cllr Alan Waters (Click here for PDF copy).
CivicUEA public discussion on climate change (8 Mar 2023) here (EDP article) The climate mural was the focus of the reception following this event as an examplar of UEA's activity in local and regional communities, as it develops its Charter for being a "Civic University".
Norwich City Council (22 Feb 2023) here (youtube) Aimee Dexter (UEA) on the links between Climatic Research Unit, artist Gennadiy Ivanov and Norwich City Council, including the Council's declaration of a climate emergency.
Clive Lewis MP (7 Dec 2022) here (instagram) Clive Lewis, MP for Norwich South, provides commentary on his visit to the climate mural.
Alan Waters, Leader of Norwich City Council (25 Nov 2022) here (video) Alan Waters gives the opening speech at the launch event.
Media coverage
A Climate Mural for Our Times opened at the City Hall Norwich on 25 November 2022.
We have compiled here some examples of media coverage related to the project.
Art & Culture in Norwich & Norfolk booklet (Spring 2023) (local copy here) here Climate mural featured in an entry for Norwich Studio: Gennadiy Ivanov.
Eastern Daily Press (EDP) article (27 Nov 2022) here Huge climate change mural installed in Norwich City Hall.
dots-above-the-e article (25 Nov 2022) here ‘A Climate Mural For Our Times’ unveiled at Norwich City Hall.
UEA media release (25 Nov 2022) here Climate change mural now on display at Norwich City Hall in historic year for Climatic Research Unit.
Norwich City Council media release (25 Nov 2022) here Climate change mural unveiled at Norwich City Hall in historic year for Climatic Research Unit.
Tyndall Centre news item (25 Nov 2022) here CRU Climate Mural celebrates their 50 years of research.
BBC Look East news (6 Nov 2021) here (youtube) Gennadiy Ivanov and Trevor Davies on their return from COP26 discuss the Transitions climate science/climate art project within which the climate mural was produced.
Artist
Gennadiy Ivanov (website)
Transitions / Global Water Futures
Trevor Davies (UEA)
John Pomeroy (University of Saskatchewan)
Climatic Research Unit
Michael Taylor (UEA)
Tim Osborn (UEA)
Norwich City Council
Alan Waters
Acknowledgements
Scientific advice: Julian Andrews (UEA)
Climate stripes inspiration: Ed Hawkins (University of Reading)
Communications: Sharon Page (NCC), Will Stevens (NCC), Emily Fairchild (UEA)
Funding
The leader of Norwich City Council commissioned a mural depicting our climate past and our choices for the future to be placed in the main council chamber. The mural has been created without any cost to the council or to any other public organisation: it is a gift.
Gennadiy Ivanov and Trevor Davies were supported by Global Water Futures via the Transitions project.
Michael Taylor and Tim Osborn were supported by UK Natural Environment Research Council via the GloSAT project (NE/S015582/1).
