Celebrating Caribbean Creatives Working on  Environmental efforts

In April, Earth month was celebrated with the theme, Our Power, Our Planet. The Caribbean Culture Fund (CCF) is highlighting creatives across the region who are already using their work to respond to environmental challenges.

Of the approximately 80 projects CCF has funded to date, one in four focuses on environmental themes—despite this never being a requirement. This reflects a clear reality: Caribbean artists and cultural organisations are responding directly to the climate crisis as it unfolds in their communities.

Their work translates complex environmental issues into forms that people can hear, see, and feel—making climate action more accessible and actionable.

Sound-based projects are documenting ecological change in powerful ways. Listen Jamaica: A Sound Gallery Amplifying Jamaica’s Silenced Spaces captures the shifting soundscapes of rivers and coastlines, linking them to mining, beach access, and climate pressures. Soundscaping the Caribbean Ecosystem: Women and Music trains young women to record environmental sounds and transform them into musical compositions, creating both an archive and new creative pathways.

Music and performance are also bridging environmental concerns with identity and history. Chants for the Sixth Extinction in Barbados draws on ecological knowledge across generations, while Roots & Rhythms: Sound the Shift engages communities in The Bahamas and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines through participatory music-making.

Other projects make environmental issues visible through materials and public space. In Jamaica, Touching the Waters, Embracing Our Land uses textile practices to explore pollution and ecosystem preservation, while Kingston Creative’s Climate Change Art Park brings environmental dialogue into shared urban space. Across Trinidad and Tobago and Aruba, ‘STICS transforms recycled plastic into performance materials, linking carnival traditions with environmental reuse.

Film and storytelling projects further ground these issues in lived experience. La memoria de la arcilla positions soil as a living archive of ecological and cultural knowledge, while projects in Haiti and Puerto Rico document the emotional and generational impacts of environmental crises.

Together, these initiatives demonstrate that arts and culture are not peripheral to climate action—they are essential to how communities understand, engage with, and respond to it.

To date, CCF has invested over USD 400,000 in projects at the intersection of climate and culture. This is a strong foundation—but the demand, and the opportunity, are far greater.

For funders focused on climate action, the arts offer a direct pathway to community engagement and behaviour change. CCF has a growing pipeline of projects ready for support, and mechanisms—such as its matching gift programme—to deploy resources quickly and effectively.

To learn more or support this work, contact: grants@caribbeanculturefund.org.