Initial Impressions on the Role of the Performing and Visual Arts in Influencing Environmental Behaviour

Australia faces several major ecological and environmental challenges that will require the engagement of the whole of society if they are to be reversed. Existing programs from the government, non-government and private sectors are failing to make significant inroads into many of the more intractable challenges such as soil salinity, urban sprawl, the greenhouse effect, declining water quality, and the loss of biodiversity. New methods are required. This paper suggests that the visual and performing arts may be useful in affecting environmental behaviour at the individual, community and societal level by helping to increase understanding and knowledge, aiding communication, enabling more people to be engaged, provoking changes in people, affirming beliefs, evoking an emotional response, and providing a spiritual dimension that helps connect people more with the natural environment.