Harnessing the Power of Art for People and Planet

As part of our comprehensive, cross-disciplinary approach, the Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability has made artistic endeavor an integral part of what we do.

The arts have a unique ability to capture people’s attention, seed change, and spur action. Our hope is that the projects on this page–and many more–will bring a new dimension to the climate conversation and galvanize people to create a more sustainable future for our planet and all who live on it.

See what we’ve been doing
a student smiles while painting the blue surface of a large concrete globe in a courtyard

How We Do It

    Reaching the Public

    By sponsoring or co-programming with public, climate-focused art exhibitions, we help reach a wider audience with the message of a more sustainable future.

    Training Students

    Through our ongoing environmental communications internship and standalone opportunities, such as the joint Dornsife-Roski “Cool Globes” course, we train arts students to communicate science–and science students to integrate the arts into their work.

    Engaging Faculty

    Science faculty from leading universities become storytellers through our annual Storymakers program. We also support faculty who are merging the arts and sustainability through the creation of original works, such as poetry or paintings.

    Spotlight: Science in the Studio

    Working with a 19th-century method called salt printing, USC Roski M.F.A. student Callianne Jones creates mesmerizing photographs that fix water impurities in visible form. Her thesis exhibit, “Runoff,” presented photos she created through a Wrigley Institute-sponsored collaboration with Graduate Fellow Juliann Panehal, who is studying the aftermath of the 2022 Huntington Beach oil spill. Watch to see how this unique project used artistic creativity to enhance scientific understanding, offering unique insights into our natural world.

    Video: Science in the Studio, about an artist and an Earth scientist working together to create unique photos of water

    News About the Arts @ Wrigley

    Learn more about the projects and programs where we’re tapping into art’s unique power to focus meaningful attention on important issues.

    Creativity in Service of the Climate