Ecological Grief, Hope, and Creative Forms of Resilience: A Creative Practice Approach

<p dir="ltr">With the effects of the climate emergency increasingly shaping our daily lives, feelings of ecological distress – particularly ecogrief and anxiety – have become palpable. In this article, we focus on these affective responses and examine how creative practice collaborations are curating possibilities for hope and resilience. We argue for the importance of such creative engagement, as ecological distress can lead to paralysis, nihilism, or despair, making it imperative to explore how creative practices open pathways for collective healing and actionable hope in the face of crisis. Following Lesley Head’s (2016. Hope and grief in the Anthropocene: Re-conceptualising human-nature relations. Taylor and Francis Group) proposition that grief and hope are intrinsically entwined – hope as an embodied act within the affective fabric of everyday life – we consider how these emotional registers are navigated through artistic and collaborative processes. Increasingly, contemporary practitioners are turning to creative methods to make space for emotional complexity and to cultivate new strategies for connecting grief with hope. This article brings together insights from the environmental humanities and creative practice research to consider how such approaches can support resilience and social change. Through examples where creative practice operates as method, approach, and intervention, we explore the affective terrain of climate justice, arguing that creativity and art are essential for fostering empathetic engagement and imagining more hopeful, liveable futures.</p>