MA Museum Studies graduate explores how museums can respond to the climate crisis

<p dir="ltr">Izzy’s dissertation, <em>Looking at the Climate Crisis from the “comfort” of the museum</em>, explores how museums, galleries, archives and collections can help people think differently about the climate crisis, sustainability and their relationship with the natural world.</p> <p dir="ltr">The dissertation has been shared by <a href="https://www.artandenergy.org/news/izzyhickslookingattheclimatecrisis" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Art and Energy Collective</a>, a South West-based organisation working across art, energy, community and climate conversation. For Izzy, the project is rooted in a bigger question: how can museums move beyond preserving the past and become active spaces for learning, dialogue and change?<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">The starting point for Izzy’s research came during a carbon literacy training day at <a href="https://www.theboxplymouth.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Box</a> in Plymouth in November 2024. The session explored climate awareness and action in a cultural setting, helping Izzy connect her interests in museums, justice, science and the environment.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was the first day that my passion for cultural studies, justice and our environment were all able to sit in the same room with me,” said Izzy.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It gave me an opportunity to experience my love for science and my love for the arts simultaneously, sparking a clear direction for my research. It highlighted the important role that museums can play, not just in educating people about the climate crisis, but also in role-modelling sustainable practice to the cultural sector and beyond.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Her dissertation considers the museum as more than a place of display. It asks how collections, archives, interpretation and creative practice can support public understanding of climate issues, while helping people imagine fairer and more sustainable futures.<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">Izzy came to Arts University Plymouth after studying Fine Art at UWE Bristol. During her MA, she began to connect creative practice with a more academic approach to museum research.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Arts University Plymouth provided space and inspiration for my creativity, alongside the very academic approach I took during my master’s studies,” said Izzy. “It was a place that encouraged big ideas and creative approaches.</p> <p dir="ltr">“When dealing with big, sometimes scary topics like the climate crisis, the cohort and the course leadership brought forward other perspectives and creative strategies that brought my research back into realistic and optimistic places.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/ma-museum-studies">MA Museum Studies</a> at Arts University Plymouth invites students to reimagine the role of museums within contemporary social and political debates. The course is taught in close connection with The Box, Plymouth’s museum, art collection, gallery and archive, which won the national accolade of being named Art Fund Museum of the Year 2026. Students also engage with regional and national museums and collections including Tate St Ives, Tate Britain Archives and RAMM Exeter, exploring themes such as museum education, audience development, socially engaged practice, community building, curatorship, interpretation and outreach.<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">A key influence on Izzy’s dissertation was The Art and Energy Collective’s Let’s Change Culture sessions, which brought together people working across Plymouth’s cultural sector to think about climate action through discussion, making and shared learning.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The Let’s Change Culture sessions illuminated how powerful hope and optimism are, and how fundamental hope is in making any real change in this sector and the wider system,” said Izzy.</p> <p dir="ltr">“There were examples of projects and discussions that held hope at their core, not through dismissing the sad realities of this subject, but by channelling momentum and passion into productive and practical spaces.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The collective’s work really inspires me and is living proof that art and science can work together to create imaginative and moving work. Their research and projects will continue to influence my research and eventually my career.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Arts University Plymouth has an existing relationship with The Art and Energy Collective through sustainability-focused creative practice, including earlier work connected to Fab Lab South West, exploring creative approaches to solar photovoltaic design and community workshops using solar-powered artworks.<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">For Izzy, the central message of the dissertation is that museums and galleries should not wait for perfect conditions before acting.</p> <p dir="ltr">“There is no greater time than the present,” said Izzy. “We can only do so much thinking about doing the right thing before the opportunity for choice gets taken away.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We can’t wait around for things to get better and more just; we have to empower empathetic practices within our teams and do the right thing now.”</p> <p dir="ltr">She believes museums can help people feel less alone or overwhelmed when facing climate issues, particularly when they create space for practical action as well as discussion.</p> <p dir="ltr">“People often respond with ‘but it’s not my responsibility’ or ‘recycling won’t make a difference’, but why not take action on what we can control first and see what happens?” said Izzy.</p> <p dir="ltr">“People are often less scared to make changes in their lives if they see others doing it too. It has a knock-on effect.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Izzy’s research also asks how museums can use collections and archives to support more open conversations about the climate crisis and the natural world.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I want museums and galleries to be more risk-taking in starting conversations around the climate crisis and the relationship we have to our natural world,” said Izzy.</p> <p dir="ltr">“How can we utilise the knowledge held in archives to educate on this, and how can we bring forward artistic expression and creative thinking into healing and responding? Creating safe, accessible spaces for these discussions should follow.”</p> <p dir="ltr">One idea that stayed with Izzy strongly was the need to rethink the separation between people and nature. Drawing on writers including Timothy Morton, Donna Haraway and Astrida Neimanis, her dissertation explores how human-centred thinking can limit empathy and action.</p> <p dir="ltr">“A very modern problem we have is a disconnect to our landscape,” said Izzy. “In a world where that relationship between ourselves and the land is broken, we will see the climate crisis as a human-centred challenge.</p> <p dir="ltr">“To see ourselves connected to every living and non-living thing can influence more empathetic problem-solving. The rock and the snail are just as important as the dolphin and the child.”<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">Since graduating, Izzy hopes to take the ideas behind her research into museum education and outreach, particularly with children and young people.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The Carbon Literacy Project really did inspire me and informs the kind of career I want to be creating for myself,” said Izzy. “As a witness to informative, hopeful teaching around the climate crisis within the context of the museum, I can say it can be a productive space for inspiring action and empathetic problem-solving.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Alongside her studies, Izzy volunteered with Jeremiah’s Journey, a child bereavement charity. She said that experience helped her recognise her interest in working with young people and supporting them to imagine fairer futures.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Combining these two recently found passions, I plan to take my research into the education sector through museum outreach projects visiting schools, engaging young people in climate action and green livelihoods,” said Izzy.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I would also love to hold talks and workshops in museums, specifically aimed at children and young people, using history and art to encourage the younger generation to connect with the environment around them and feel more connected to the natural world.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Izzy is also considering how the project could develop through further academic research.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Part of me can see this research in a PhD setting,” she said. “It really is such a relevant topic and so integral to the way we see and use museums. It also connects to many other industries and sectors.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Izzy Hicks is an Arts University Plymouth MA Museum Studies graduate with a background in Fine Art. Her research brings together museum practice, climate action, creative education and community-led approaches to sustainability.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong><a href="https://www.artandenergy.org/s/Izzy-Hicks-FINAL-INDEPENDENT-PROJECT.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read Izzy’s dissertation.</a></strong></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong><a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/ma-museum-studies">Find out more about MA Museum Studies at Arts University Plymouth.</a></strong><br /></p>