Adaptation & Imagination Part 1: A Journey of Creative Collaboration

By Natalie Nolte

At the Adaptation Network Colloquium held in July 2024, attendees came together for a visual arts session centred on collaboration, creative expression and climate adaptation. This session encouraged everyone to step outside their comfort zones, engage with new people, and explore how creative processes can help address the complex challenges of climate change. The emphasis was not on producing polished artwork, but on awakening creative potential, allowing for the exploration of new ways of thinking and working together.

New connections were encouraged as participants were randomly organised into groups of four. The session began with a grounding meditation, inviting them to connect with their bodies and the earth, and enter an embodied, creative experience. They were then guided to ‘Walk the Dot’, an exercise to relax into creativity. 

A central part of the session was the “50 Thoughts” activity, where they brainstormed ideas related to climate adaptation, pushing themselves to think creatively and come up with a large range of ideas. This exercise challenged individuals to stretch beyond logical approaches and delve into out-of-the box, creative thinking. While the first ten, twenty, or even thirty ideas might have come easily, reaching fifty forced participants to dig deep.

An array of materials including paints, pastels, crayons, coloured papers, magazines, egg boxes, marker pens and more were provided for play. Each person then developed one of their ideas on an A5 sheet. The twist was that their artwork wouldn’t remain their own. These pieces were passed along to others in the group, eventually forming a large A1 sized artwork on each table, which was then moved between different groups.  Each person therefore had an opportunity to contribute to and build on the work of others. For some, this process was liberating, while others found it particularly challenging to relinquish control over their work.

One attendee shared how they carefully preserved what they felt was a “perfect” piece, encouraging their group not to draw over any of the elements. However, when the piece returned after being passed around, they were shocked to see other groups had drawn over the areas they had worked to protect. Another group, having only a few materials to work with, explored how creative solutions can emerge from constraints. When their piece returned, it had been enriched by others with colour and textures, becoming a vibrant example of how different resources and skills can come together to create something greater than the sum of its parts.

These experiences highlighted the power of resourcefulness and adaptability, while also emphasising the unpredictability of collaboration and the valuable outcomes that arise when we release control and embrace others’ input. Tackling complex issues like climate change requires collective action, which is supported by an openness to collaboration and innovation. This is core to the Adaptation Network’s aim of enhancing our collective ability to respond to climate change through collaboration, knowledge sharing and co-production between policy, practice and research. Effective solutions rely on diverse perspectives and the ability to work together towards shared goals.

Many found the session therapeutic, sharing that it allowed them to play and  move away from the stressful fear-driven mindsets usually associated with climate change. This made the session both fun and educational, creating a space where creativity could flourish without the pressure to produce perfect results.

As the session drew to a close, reflections on the creative process and emerging themes filled the room. We share some of these in this video: