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Paper short abstract:

This paper explores grassroot perspectives of graffiti artists and environmentalists on sustainable futures in Sudan, a country in social upheaval at the frontline of climate change. The study applies a co-creative methodology of future visioning exercises and the use of 360° video for documentation

Paper long abstract:

This paper focuses on transformative anthropological interventions in the ongoing ontological turn from anthropocentric extractivism to life-sustaining and more-than-human perspectives for a sustainable future. It describes a co-creative methodology that brings to the surface grassroots perspectives on human-environment relations and sustainable futures to better understand how these perspectives help to the undoing of simplistic apocalyptic or utopian narratives. Sudan is at the frontlines of climate change. Temperatures are predicted to rise by over 3 degrees Celsius by 2060. The country faces challenges such as erratic rainfall, droughts, floods, dust storms and heat waves. Since 1977, there has been a growing movement of environmentalists in Sudan, including academics and activists. In 2019, they joined the Sudanese revolution and even after being displaced by war, Sudanese environmentalists remain active internationally. This study explores the perspectives of young Sudanese environmental activists and graffiti artists on a sustainable future to provide a broader outlook on the ongoing changes on a political and social level. How can revolutionary Sudanese artists and environmentalists work together to develop visions for a sustainable Sudan? Using participatory methods, the study documented Sudanese revolutionary street art, conducted ethnographic fieldwork and interviews in 2022, and brought together Sudanese graffiti artists and environmentalists for a workshop on sustainable future visions for Sudan. The workshop was documented with 360° video to describe and capture the group dimensions, interaction and discussions during the future workshop. In addition, the creative process of producing visionary murals was documented as a co-creative outcome of the workshop.