Series 1
2022
Ahead of the C40 World Mayors Summit in Buenos Aires, we asked global creatives to depict how the world could look if local, national, and international leaders were #UnitedInAction to achieve a green and just future.
Here, a group of incredible multimedia artists show us the cities of the future, where climate action, wellbeing and inclusivity are at the heart of communities. Their art challenges us to imagine a future where people and the planet can thrive.
Njung’e Wanjiru
Nairobi/Addis Ababa
Njung’e Wanjiru is a Kenyan illustrator, animator, and filmmaker. Through visual communication, he tells stories that revolve around social issues and community development, whilst uplifting voices that often remain unheard. As a young creative and digital native, his work sheds light on African cultures, experiences, and perspectives.
Inspired by his experiences in Nairobi and Addis Ababa, Njung’e’s artwork creates imagery of African urban spaces that are more sustainable, healthy, resilient, and equitable.
Though Njung’e includes small transformational climate actions throughout his work, he did not want to compromise on the cultural markers and everyday realities of the cities he imagined.
When illustrating a utopian city that is ecologically and socially sustainable, Njung’e says “the diverse cultures of spaces such as these often get lost in the ‘big city vibe’.” By empowering the vibrant identities of cities such as Nairobi or Addis Ababa, his plan was to not imagine a perfect future, but a feasible future that strives for urban wellbeing.
Njung’e wanted to acknowledge traditional and indigenous knowledge and practices on climate action, considering that the African continent currently contributes to only 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
With his artworks, Njung’e hopes to challenge people to think differently, and to encourage consciousness, empathy, and collective action.
Tessa Chong
Gadigal Country
Tessa Chong has worn many creative hats during her career, including art director, illustrator, and designer. She currently lives and works on Gadigal Country in Australia.
Tessa’s work, titled ‘Positive Loops’, animates everyday interactions. She said: “This piece is about creating a new, more sustainable way of living in our modern cities. It’s about forming new habits, and new connections with our community, to find a new sense of flow and purpose. Cities need to provide access to cleaner modes of travel and local produce, so being green comes easy.”
She loves telling visual stories with charm and irreverence. She is also passionate about many social issues, including representation and the environment.
Cities and Memory
Wellbeing Cities
Cities and Memory is one of the world’s largest sound projects, with more than 1,000 artists contributing to the goal of remixing the world, one sound at a time.
Wellbeing Cities is a unique collaboration between C40 and Cities and Memory, which asked artists to reimagine a curated selection of field recordings from 36 countries around the world, to develop brand new compositions on the theme of sustainability, equity and wellbeing in cities.
Access the interactive Cities and Memory sound map to learn more about each sound in this piece.
Koleka Putuma
Cape Town, South Africa
Koleka Putuma is an award-winning theatre practitioner, writer and poet. She is also the Founder and Director of Manyano Media, a multidisciplinary creative company that empowers and produces stories by black queer women.
Her bestselling debut collection of poems, Collective Amnesia, was published in April 2017, and is now in its 12th print run and prescribed for study in South African Universities and Gothenburg University in Sweden.
In April 2021, Manyano Media published Koleka’s sophomore collection of poems, Hullo, Bu-Bye, Koko, and Come In, with forthcoming translations in Dutch, Danish and French.
Her theatre works include UHM, Woza Sarafina, Mbuzeni and No Easter Sunday For Queers. She is a Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative finalist for theatre, a Forbes Africa Under 30 Honoree, recipient of the Imbewu Trust Scribe Playwriting Award, Mbokodo Rising Light award, CASA playwriting award and the 2019 Distell Playwriting Award for her play No Easter Sunday for Queers.
Koleka’s piece, Beyond the Mountain, explores the marriage of the past and future city – one that serves its residents as much as it honours rich heritage and history.
Click below to read the piece:
