Creative Climate Futures

Filed under: Engaging the public, Arts into climate

About the project

Creative Climate Futures is a project supporting local climate action in Glasgow over 2023-2026 through work with embedded artists Elena Mary Harris and Rebecca Fraser in two pioneer neighbourhoods, working with Crossroads in the Gorbals and The Pavillion in Easterhouse, alongside a city-wide learning, training and capacity sharing programme. The project was originally planned to finish in March 2025 but it has now been granted funding for an additional year of work through to March 2026.

Glasgow is already feeling the impacts of climate change. This includes milder, wetter winters, more summer heatwaves, and more frequent, heavier downpours. We need to build resilience to these impacts and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are contributing to climate change. This means neighbourhoods will need to look and feel very different if they are to flourish in the future.

Change needs to be collaborative, with communities having an equal seat at the table and given real power to drive forward the changes they know are needed. Through Creative Climate Futures, communities across Glasgow are collaborating with decision makers, technical experts and artists to understand what climate change means for their neighbourhoods, imagine climate-ready futures and speed up local action to make these a reality.

The project has climate justice at its centre – recognising that our response to climate change must also tackle inequality and its underlying causes. Creative Climate Futures combines this approach with arts and creativity to help Glasgow’s neighbourhoods drive action to create the futures they want.

Culture for Climate Scotland is working on Creative Climate Futures with project lead, sustainability charity Verture, and partners Community Land Scotland, Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector, the Scottish Communities Climate Action Network and Glasgow City Council.

To stay up to date with the latest project news, sign up to the Creative Climate Futures mailing list.

Contact the project team at [email protected].

Visit Verture’s dedicated project pages.

Read an interview with Rebecca Fraser and The Pavillion in Easterhouse

Read an interview with Elena Mary Harris and Crossroads in the Gorbals

Project timeline

August 2025: Completion of new walking route in the Gorbals
July 2025: Guides for for local authorities and community organisations published
June 2025: Local MP Maureen Burke visits Pavilion to discuss the Creative Climate Futures project
March 2025: Glasgow Future Fair bringing together learning from both locations
February 2025: Future Spa opens in Easterhouse
October 2024: Make Do events start running in Easterhouse
August 2024: Big Gorbals Fair event
June 2024: Print your Future event
January 2024: Artists announced – Rebecca Fraser for Easterhouse, working with The Pavillion and Elena Mary Harris for the Gorbals working with Crossroads. More about the embedded artists.
November 2023: Callout for artists to join the pioneer neighbourhoods.
September 2023: Lead local partners announced – The Pavillion in Easterhouse, and Crossroads in the Gorbals. More about the pioneer neighbourhoods and lead partners.
August 2023: Community organisations invited to express interest in taking part in the project.

Two headshots. One shows a woman wearing glasses looking directly at the camera. The other shows a woman with her hair in a bun looking at a DSLR camera on a tripod.

L to R: Rebecca Fraser, Elena Mary Harris (photo credit: @CherryManMedia)

Project funding

Creative Climate Futures is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The funding has been awarded through Glasgow City Council’s Communities and Place Fund.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills.

Culture for Climate Scotland’s role in this project forms part of our culture/SHIFT programme, which promotes how the arts and culture can transform society in response to climate change.

Image credit: Glasgow City Council