A year-long collaboration between Cape Farewell and Francis Holland School, Sloane Square, London

Since 2001, the Cape Farewell has addressed the climate crisis as a profound cultural challenge. Guided by insights from climate scientists, it has brought together over 400 internationally renowned artists, visionaries, filmmakers, writers, and educators to engage creatively with one of the greatest challenges of our time. These creatives joined climate scientists on numerous expeditions—to the Arctic, Scottish island communities, urban regeneration projects, stressed freshwater habitats, and the Marshall Islands in the Pacific—blending scientific understanding with artistic expression to inspire awareness and action.

At the heart of Cape Farewell’s mission is education, focusing on young people who would inherit the consequences of a society long dependent on fossil fuels. Building on this legacy, the 2024–2025 year-long partnership with Francis Holland School, Sloane Square, followed in the footsteps of three youth-led expeditions into the High Arctic and the 2023 Marshall Islands Jo-Jikum youth expedition. This partnership aimed to bring the climate challenge into the school’s daily life, integrating it across all curriculum subjects—from science and economics to mathematics, literature, and the arts.

The collaboration, Creative Perspectives on Climate Change, included a dynamic exhibition of Cape Farewell artworks and poetry displayed throughout the school. This exhibition featured works by some of the world’s leading artists and cultural figures, including Sir Antony Gormley, Dame Siobhan Davies, Ian McEwan, Helen Moore, Michael Pinsky, Chris Drury, and others. These pieces were carefully situated across various subject areas, fostering cross-disciplinary connections and encouraging pupils to engage with the climate crisis from multiple angles.

Alongside the exhibition, a series of workshops and talks took place. Cape Farewell’s founder and director, David Buckland gave an insightful talk at the Creative Perspectives of Climate Change launch event. Clare Twomey MBE, Helen Moore, Michael Pinsky brought diverse perspectives—from sculptural workshops to redesigning cities – enriching students’ understanding and inspiring creative responses.

Pupils from Francis Holland and neighbouring schools actively engaged with these resources, participating in workshops and discussions, and critically responding to the artworks. In turn, students produced their own interdisciplinary, interactive bodies of work, including VR experiences that immersed viewers in climate realities, installations and sculptures that embodied environmental themes, and creative forms such as poetry, sound art, and textiles that explored personal and collective narratives about nature and change.

This extensive creative output culminated in a student-curated mini exhibition at the close of the academic year, showcasing their diverse responses alongside the professional works that had inspired them. The exhibition not only demonstrated a deepened awareness of climate issues but also highlighted the development of essential skills identified by the World Economic Forum—creative thinking, storytelling, and social influence—skills increasingly critical for the workforce of the 2030s.

Through this rich, multi-layered project, students were empowered to become the leaders, thinkers, innovators, designers, entrepreneurs, and game-changers of tomorrow, equipped to navigate and transform the cultural and ecological landscapes of the future.

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