Culture Meets Climate: artists and scientists tell stories of the planet

Since its creation in 2011 — and thanks to the collaboration of 2,500 cultural organizations in 80 countries — Google Arts & Culture has allowed people to explore the world through a cultural lens. Like culture, nature plays a foundational role in people’s lives and identities and over the years, its presence on our platform has developed organically, thanks to collaborations with natural history museums, scientists, artists, NGOS, preservation and scientific organizations. And as the climate crisis becomes more urgent, culture, storytelling and technology increasingly have a role to play.

Because of this, we are proud to announce today g.co/culturemeetsclimate, a new unified experience bringing together the diverse range of experiences, resources and features available to anyone interested in learning more about the environment, climate change and sustainability from museums, artists and scientists.

Artists meet climate data

The climate crisis and the challenges we face are a complex subject, but artists and culture can present it through a new lens. In June 2020, Google Arts & Culture teamed up with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to launch Heartbeat of the Earth, where artists interpret scientific climate data and which invites you to interact with a series of artworks that make the data more tangible and understandable. You can dive into an Acidifying Ocean with Cristina Tarquini and explore the impact of rising temperatures on marine life; or “see” and learn about the plastic particles that are ever-present in the atmosphere around you with Plastic Air by Giorgia Lupi; and to visualize the actual and predicted global sea level rise caused by the climate crisis, visit the Coastline Paradox by Timo Aho and Pekka Niittyvirta.

Stories from around the world

Thanks to the contributions of institutions and experts around the world, you can explore the planet’s treasures via multimedia storytelling and 360 imagery from Antarctica to the Great Barrier Reef and Borneo’s Rainforest, and how it supports an incredible ecosystem that is home to numerous endangered species. Learn about fascinating topics such as the magic of mangroves, how gardens can predict climate change or how edible plastic can help fight our plastics pollution problem. Get to know the first non-human ambassador to the United Nations General Assembly and follow a ranger through iconic National Parks in the US.

Discover how climate change and global socio-economic shifts are threatening our magnificent natural landscapes and disrupting small communities, from the resilient women of Namibia’s Himba Tribe to the Uro community of Lake Titicaca, to the Tribes of Papua New Guinea.

Find out about the devastating effect the climate crisis is having on our cultural heritage, and how people around the world are using technology to protect their cultural sites against climate change with Heritage on the Edge. Using 360 imagery, 3D modeling and storytelling, the collaboration with ICOMOS and CyArk highlights a small selection of cultural sites being affected by climate change: Rapa Nui’s (Easter Island) iconic statues, Scotland’s Edinburgh Castle, the great mosque city of Bagerhat in Bangladesh, the historic coastal city of Kilwa Kisiwani in Tanzania and the adobe metropolis of Chan Chan in Peru.

Culture Meets Climate is a live hub that will highlight all our new initiatives related to the environment, as new collaborations and experiences come online, so keep an eye on g.co/culturemeetsclimate for more.