Concealing, naming, or tackling inequalities? Art, culture and (In)justice at COP27

Abstract

ABSTRACT Although art and cultural events have been part of the COPs from the very beginning they remain largely absent in the literature. Conversely, the symbolic, dramaturgical, performative, and narrative elements of climate conferences have been established as objects of study in the political and social sciences for some time. Relevant to this paper are Death’s (2011) reflections on ‘summit theatre’, Blühdorn’s (2007) concepts around ‘simulative politics’ and the ‘post-ecologist’ condition, and Aykut, Morena and Foyer’s (2021) more recent theorisation of ‘incantatory governance’. Focusing on COP27, it provides an initial categorisation of art in the context of these negotiations, not only using contemporary theories on climate governance to explain the various roles and functions of art in this context but thereby also hinting at how these theories can be extended (and criticised) by including an analysis of ‘summit art’. More specifically, it looks at how art conceals the conflictual nature of climate governance, in particular the fact that North/South divides and the question of justice play a central rhetorical role in justifying the lack of significant political decisions, and at how art projects aimed at the creation of a ‘depoliticized’ feeling of togetherness that lacked a reflection of the underlying causes of climate change and social injustices (Harvey 1996).