Art and environmental communication in Bangladesh: perceptions of artists and environmentalists

Abstract

Although art as a communication medium has a rich tradition in Bangladesh and the environment is a critical concern, no scholarly endeavor has connected these two research areas. This exploratory study, therefore, seeks to understand how artists and environmentalists perceive the role of art in environmental communication. Based on interview data, we explored two relevant themes regarding their perception: art’s uncertain contribution to environmentalism and environmental art’s role and transformation. The first theme discussed the art’s audience, its standard and use, its meaning, social and financial dilemmas in the way of art’s contribution to environmentalism, and disagreements between environmentalists and artists over a few issues. The second theme focuses on the communicative and persuasive roles and potentials of arts in positive environmental changes and how the internet has recently transformed environmental art, making it digital, wide-reaching, more democratic, and more innovative. Finally, this paper concludes with some practical implications of the findings and methodological limitations.