Cape Farewell’s Urgent Call to Action: Art, Science, and Climate’s Systemic Change

“The Tomb” on Bikini Atoll, a concrete bunker holding more than 3.1 million cubic feet of US-produced radioactive soil and debris, is cracking due to rising sea levels and temperatures, dumping plutonium into the Pacific.

The Marshall Islands has been a testament to resilience in the face of relentless tides — both environmental and historical, including nuclear testing during World War 2. Now, quickly escalating effects of climate change that are destroying the islands in real-time serve as a clarion wakeup call to the world — the time to act is now.

This August, Cape Farewell, a groundbreaking cultural initiative helmed by artist David Buckland since 2001, leads an ensemble of global artists, writers, filmmakers, and scientists on a mission titled “Kõmij Mour Ijin,” or ‘Our Life is Here’ to issue that call. Their 450 mile voyage around the Marshall Islands serves a dual purpose: highlighting the immediate threats of rising sea levels and nuclear testing’s aftermath on the islands, and demonstrating how grassroots movements can contribute to larger systemic change in environmental policy and global consciousness.

The atolls, which lie on average only 6 feet above sea level, will be engulfed by the Pacific Ocean by the end of this century, if climate disruption continues on its current trajectory; whilst the scars of the 67 nuclear detonations carried out by the United States from 1946 to 1958 on Bikini and Enewetak Atolls are now recognized as being responsible for the worst radiological disasters in US history.

David Buckland, is one of the 10 key artists making urgent work about climate today since 200 and his vision is clear: “This expedition aims to weave narratives that not only spotlight present challenges but also guide us towards creating robust systems for a sustainable future.”

Beyond raising awareness, this mission has strategic components geared towards systemic change:

1. Promoting Indigenous Voices: By involving Marshallese leaders and artists like Marshallese poet, Climate Ambassador, performance artist and educator Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner who is celebrated for her poetry performance at the opening of the UN Climate Summit in New York in 2014, the expedition brings indigenous perspectives to the forefront, emphasizing the need for global systems to be inclusive and adaptive to diverse voices.
2. Sharing Knowledge and Learnings: The expedition makes information about the challenges the Marshall Islands are facing more accessible through storytelling by artists including photographers and oceans’ activist and bookmaker Michael Light. In addition, through its partnership with local educational organizations, this project fosters a new generation’s commitment to climate advocacy by organizing island-wide science-based climate change workshops, cleanups and community activities. This collaboration ensures that the narrative doesn’t stop with the present generation but seeds systemic change for the future.
3. Intersectional Approaches: This expedition has multiple approaches and seeks to combat climate change from all different angles. In addition to storytelling, it will include coral interrogation work spearheaded by Kalena de Brum, who specializes in marine ecology. This entails studying the health, resilience, and adaptability of corals, which are integral to the health of oceans and coastal ecosystems, in the face of changing sea temperatures and conditions. Her efforts will provide valuable insights into how climate change is affecting marine life and ecosystems in the region.

The last president of the Marshall Islands, Hilda Heine, said, “The thought of evacuation is repulsive to us. We think that the more reasonable thing to do is to seek to end this madness, this climate madness, where people think that smaller, vulnerable countries are expendable and therefore they can continue to do business as usual.” The Cape Farewell expedition is not just a journey around the Marshall Islands — it is a multi-faceted blueprint for how localized actions can get to the root of deeply entrenched systemic issues. As escalating challenges like climate change become more and more urgent, the time is now to put these local, grassroots solutions at the center — and end this madness.

A microsite created for the expedition with information about all team members can be found at https://ourlifeishere.org/. The expedition has received substantial funding from Waverley Street Foundation and Stellar Blue Trust.