Transformative Learning through Art: Shifting perspectives for climate action
- Article, Greece, News
How imagination and creativity forge climate advocates
What if climate education could do more than inform? What if it fundamentally changed how young people see themselves, their world, and their power to shape the future?
At LATRA, this belief lies at the heart of our LEVERS project, and it guides our next step: harnessing art as a catalyst for transformative learning.
What is Transformative Learning?
Transformative learning theory, pioneered by Jack Mezirow, holds that real change happens when learners critically reflect on their existing assumptions, values, and perspectives, ultimately reframing their worldview.
Rather than simply absorbing facts, participants reimagine their roles and agency, often taking bold new actions rooted in fresh understanding. This approach is especially potent in climate education, where overcoming apathy or eco-anxiety requires not just knowledge, but a conscious shift in perspective.
Art as a trigger for change
Building on these foundations, Greek educational theorist Alexis Kokkos developed “Transformative Learning through Aesthetic Experience.” His method uses various art forms—theatre, literature, music, painting—as gateways for deep reflection and discourse.
The process unfolds in seven stages, beginning with recognition of a need for transformation, exploring selected artworks, guided group reflection, relating art to personal and social issues, and ending with the formation and pursuit of new actions.
This method’s power lies in the space art creates for reflection: Experiencing a theatre performance or visual artwork can challenge habitual ways of seeing, evoke empathy, and inspire learners to reconsider their relationship with climate change and environmental responsibility.
Why art?
Art transcends intellect and speaks to emotion and imagination. For children and adults alike, engaging with art fosters not only knowledge but empathy and agency. Aesthetic experiences help learners recognize their own preconceptions and, through dialogue and creativity, imagine alternatives. This complements the LATRAs Learning venture model, where immersive theatre and participatory workshops invite young climate heroes to move from passive audiences to active changemakers.
By pairing theatre and art-based reflection, the project deepens participants’ understanding and plants the seeds for ongoing personal growth far beyond the classroom or performance space.
Real-world example of perspective transformation
In LATRA’s workshops, children engage with the theatre performances “A Great Man,” then use creative activities—drawing, writing, and group discussion—to process and re-envision their relationship to climate challenges. These experiences prompt not only increased awareness but genuine behavioral intentions, as young participants become champions of climate action in their schools and households.
“A Great Man” is a theatrical performance designed for primary school children aged 5-11. In the play, children meet a character who brings a forest to life, tree by tree.
Before attending the show, each child contributes a drawing of an ideal natural environment. These drawings are hidden on stage by the actors and revealed during the play’s climax, transforming into the forest the protagonist has grown.
This interactive element allows children to see their own art become part of the story, recognizing themselves in the hero and realizing their own potential to be agents of change. The performance concludes with a practical call to action: children plant seeds of edible herbs in small pouches to take home or grow in their classrooms, seamlessly transitioning from imaginative experience to real-world action.
From theory to practice: Integrating art for lasting impact
How can educators and project partners embed transformative art experiences into climate education?
- Choose artworks with emotional and ethical resonance related to climate, equity, or stewardship
- Facilitate critical dialogues that help learners relate works of art to their lived experience, encouraging honest conversations about hope, fear, and responsibility
- Pair theatre or exhibitions with reflective workshops, allowing students to creatively express and process their transformations (e.g., through group mural creation, climate diaries, or “imagine the future” stories)
- Foster ongoing group reflections so that shifts are consolidated and lead to concrete personal or collective action, from school greening initiatives to community advocacy.
This approach aligns with and enriches existing sustainability curricula, bridging theory and practice, intellect and emotion, and fostering a culture where imagination and reflection fuel real-world change.
Conclusion: from imagination to action
True climate heroes are not born; they are cultivated, often in the fertile ground of artistic experience and transformative reflection.
By embracing transformative learning through art, projects like LEVERS help learners not only understand the urgency of climate action but also envision and embody new possibilities for themselves and their communities. In doing so, they invite each of us to become both the artist and the architect of a more just, sustainable world.
