Art, poetry and song can help turn eco-anxiety into action

Ren Buhay showcases youth climate art. This 27-year-old New Westminster BC resident co-founded and leads Solastalgia, a project that empowers youth living with eco-anxiety to become engaged environmental citizens by building community through digital magazines (zines), interactive workshops and other resources. Ren is also a public health researcher helping decision makers make active transportation safer and enjoys mentoring newcomers from his native Philippines.

Tell us about your project

Solastalgia’s first digital zine, was published with the support of RISE - Apathy is Boring in the Fall of 2022. It curated the visual art, poetry and songs of ten young people across British Columbia aiming to normalise eco-anxiety. 

Solastalgia’s Volume II zine collected painting, poems, writing, photos and other art from youth across Canada. Artists communicated how they transformed their emotions into action. Readers learn what gave them energy, agency and a sense of community in the face of their experience of the climate crisis. We hope it will reassure readers knowing that other young people do feel optimism and hope. 

In partnership with the Suzuki Elders, Solastalgia convenes intergenerational gatherings to use shared art creation and storytelling to explore climate emotions. We create and illustrate a story about the experiences of a human family and an orca family as they each explore how to protect the worlds in which they live in the face of our changing climate. 

More recently we have collaborated with the Quill Dance Collective to present Solastalgia x Quill Collective: Made for Now inviting a positive reimagination of the potential for young people to make the world safer and better. 

We are a team of about eight people but we are always open for more volunteers. We love to promote the work and inspiration of other young people with good ideas such as our current project, a graphic novel. 

How did you get engaged?

When I was a young child living in the Philippines, devastating climate impacts were common. I remember feeling confusion and fear as I watched the adults around me try to cope with frequent massive flooding. I was one of the children crying as we felt unmoored in the presence of so much panic and disorder. 

We moved to Canada as I was entering high school. I wanted to find my place in the natural world rather than see it as threatening and scary. I gravitated to outdoor experiences and eventually leadership. 

At Simon Fraser University I was involved in sustainability but my interest in art arose when I attended a talk by arts-researcher and pianist David Maggs. I realised art can reach people in ways words alone cannot because it touches our emotions. Art is also the place where we can express our radical imaginations for the world we are trying to create. We cannot create what we do not imagine. 

I used my experience at Rise/Apathy is Boring to explore how I might use these insights to have impact. Working with my co-founders (Sayemin Naheen, Rachel Lin and Nicole David) Solastalgia was born.

What makes it hard? 

Burnout is endemic in this space. One antidote is knowing one has done enough and this can never be the case in climate work so we have to take really good care of ourselves and each other in other ways. 

It is easy to turn the need for comfort into working only with people we know and trust. That isolates us. That is why I am so thrilled about the collaboration with the Suzuki Elders. We may all be a bit out of our comfort zones but we are learning and contributing. 

What gives you hope?

There are so many passionate and talented artists of all ages. Each of our small contributions matter and add up. We are helping to get to that tipping point. 

What do you see if we get this right?

There are spaces for the conversations we need about economic and social systems that support life rather than just extract it. We have learned to compromise for the common good. Intergenerational communities are normal and healthy. 

How did the way you were raised affect where you are today?

I am privileged that my parents were able to move here to make a better life for me and my brother. Many youth, especially in the Global South, do not have the luxury to worry about eco-anxiety. But worrying about it in the Global North is important too. I can see both sides matter. We have to work harder to ensure those directly affected have more voice.

What would you like to say to other young people? 

Spend time and energy outside your usual circles. There is joy to be found in engaging with others 

What about older readers?

Young people need your experience and encouragement. We have our own energy and perspective to offer to you. Perhaps we can bring a new way of thinking that might interest you. It's a two-way street. 

Renmart Buhay is co-founder of Solastalgia. He lives in New Westminster British Columbia