Artivism can stimulate community climate awareness and measures; the WATERFRONT/EU co-design sessions review with a methodology model for artivism

<ns3:p>In the 1960s, the London Artist Placement Group introduced artivism as a practice aimed at empowering citizens by positioning them as co-owners of public spaces, alongside government actors. Although the original movement later ceased, its principles have proven adaptable to contemporary societal challenges, including climate change, as proven within the EU-funded WATERFRONTS project launched in 2024, as made operational by partners in Gothenburg-Sweden, Lesbos-Greece, and Zadar-Croatia with the Rotterdam-Dutch party was added. Within WATERFRONTS, artivism is understood as an artist-led activity in which artists guide members of the public to co-design responses and solutions to climate change challenges in waterfront contexts. The project includes an initial capacity-building phase to support artists undertaking this work. During this phase, focus groups were organized by the participating countries, creating a dialogue between climate- and community experts and artists. These sessions explored local challenges, possible approaches, and practical considerations, and informed both the WATERFRONTS methodology and artists’ preparation for their work in their communities. By searching with these sessions for robust action-perspectives, the main outcomes indicate that civilian group initiatives can be successfully stimulated towards climate measures, that the relationship between local governments and citizens requires active management, and that communication is a decisive factor for positive outcomes. In this respect, triangulated communication, understood as structured dialogue between key actors, is identified as particularly helpful.</ns3:p>