Have you heard about @andrewism 's annual #solarpunk #art Collabs, created to explore different aspects of our #climate future?
A lot of works in the #storySeedLibrary were created thanks to them!
I'm looking into a possible theme for 2026:
Disaster Response and Relief
Away from pristine utopian visions we need to be able to imagine the coming calamities: #flood , #fire , #drought and more.
How can a better society react to them? How can it be utopian?
What symbols, what visual language can we use to convey the preparedness for the disasters coming our way?
How can we show solidarity?
Let's not make it just about the existing firefighters and state infrastructure, but start imagining the parallel infrastructures of a #solarpunk tomorrow. How can we help each other?
https://storyseedlibrary.org/seeds/ has a few Seeds specifically on that topic - Seek Shelter Immediately, The Fire Brigade, The Reservists, The Priorities.
Please feel free to share more!
If you'd like to see the previous editions of the Art Collab:
- https://storyseedlibrary.org/pages/andrewisms-art-collab-2025/ and https://storyseedlibrary.org/tags/2025-collab/
- https://andrew-ism.tumblr.com/post/770135694637236224/solarpunk-art-2024-new-dreams-of-labour
- https://andrew-ism.tumblr.com/post/741342402945646592/solarpunk-art-2023-bioregions
Part of me wonders if the artistic device of "the more you stare, the more unsettling it gets" of Jeff Lee Johnson's #art might work well for #solarpunk . Hear me out:
1. A utopian Solarpunk (yoghurt) postcard like hundreds you've seen, but the details show the history of the disasters, scars on the community and the infrastructure, slowly healed. It's a hard-won, lived-in future with real people in it, not just a marketing ad.
Alternatively, instead of going #solarpunk utopian -> hard won, we can go dystopian -> utopian.
An illustration of a disaster site with clear damage, homes, infrastructure, livelihoods lost.
The more details you see however, the more you realize: it's a postcard of people helping each other, where everyone is accounted for and cared for.
We go from the shock of destruction into a power of community.
alxd of the Story Seed Library
Ma Quest 