Sketchers at the intersection of art + science at the Inaugural 2018 Global Climate Action Summit, captured individuals’ stories to share. The Sketching Climate Change Stories Popup Exhibit held at the Jewish Museum of Contemporary Art in San Francisco was one of the 325 Affiliate Climate Action Events happening around the Greater San Francisco Bay Area Sept. 8 -15, the week of the summit.

Sketched by Vivian Aldridge

According to artist and SF Sketcher Vivian Aldridge, the sketchers explored how Climate Change was affecting people’s lives and through words and images conveyed their message for others. “Being part of a team that interviewed and sketched climate change activists was extremely rewarding because I knew  viewers could learn from the sketches, discuss issues, and feel motivated to make changes in their own lives.”

Bay Area urban sketching groups joined together to document the Global Climate Change Summit and the people who came to it. Their portraits tell the stories of how individuals and their communities have been affected by climate change and how they’re working on solutions.

Check out all the sketchers’ stories of people who are concerned and engaged in Climate Change.

Read highlights of the summit.

More about urban sketching

Urban sketchers’ work is similar to that of court artists or reportage illustration around the world. They bring an extra dimension, a different, more personal voice—instead of taking a photo, the sketcher’s work develops out of the interaction between artist and subject. Sketchers can also be less visible and less intrusive than cameras, sitting quietly in a corner observing and synthesizing rather than pushing in to snap the moment. Sketches can illuminate the convergence of art and journalism and make an impression in the public’s mind in ways that a narrative or even a photo may not do. (websiste)

The main groups involved are the SF Bay Area Urban Sketchers, a chapter of the international Urban Sketchers organization, with 220 chapters around the world, and SF Sketchers, a San Francisco-based meetup group with nearly 3,000 members. They have sketched individuals and communities gathering at different forums, locally and globally. Some of their work has recently been displayed at a UC Berkeley’s Department of Anthropology show ‘This is What Democracy Looks Like’.

Sketched by Vivian Aldridge