a proposal for a social institution for climate justice action
John Doe
Aug 17
The Ecological Post Office for Climate Justice is a proposal for a social institution for climate justice action. Pairing artists with organizations and researchers around particular ecological issues, the Eco-Post Office plans to mass distribute postcards throughout and beyond Houston as a way to spread stories as far as environmental disaster. Our hope is that these postcards raise collective consciousness about the could-be-wild spaces in our local biome. Like tentacles, these communications reach for an enmeshed sense of belonging between ourselves, our shared lands, and the people who steward them.
As an open call to action, we're inviting you to help us propagate a series of creative postcards that are: a) designed in collaboration between artists and environmental organizations, and b) artistic interpretations of your community’s visions for the future. These postcards can be delivered to anyone and everyone who needs to know about your work and the reality of the climate emergency in our backyards.
There's a war in our backyard. What are your fighting words?
Corporations that profit from extracting natural resources are funding wars around the world to gain access to the lands of Indigenous peoples and in turn fuel the global empire. But we, as Houstonians, feel the effects in our own backyard. Toxic chemicals leach into our air, water, and soil making our homes unlivable and our communities sick, even making our gardens inedible. And every new climate disaster makes the fight more urgent. But we are not alone in our struggle. Communities across the US feel the echoes of violence committed in global wars that flood our screens and social media.
Digital landscapes are not always safe spaces for us to build our resistance. But we can return to insurrectionary forms to share our stories. We can start with simple, open messages of truth shared through the ecological post office. We can create new echoes, sending out tentacles for connection through the unassuming medium of the antiquated postcard, and hope to see love, support, and solidarity in return.
What is Correspondence Art and Why?
Correspondence art or mail art was a type of ephemeral artistic expression that emerged in the 60s and 70s along with the Fluxus movement which pursued experimental forms and broke down barriers between art and everyday life. Correspondence artists stayed in touch over time and mailed all types of papers, stamps, slips, or other ephemera that helped build social, political, and creative networks across borders.
Digital landscapes are not always safe spaces for us to build resistance. But we can return to insurrectionary forms to share our stories. We can start with simple, open messages delivered through analog channels. We can create new echoes, sending out tentacles for connection through an unassuming postcard, and hope to see love, support, and solidarity in return.
Where do postcards go?
We address postcards to groups working toward environmental justice in communities facing similar climate related challenges to those we face in Houston. Recipients change for each workshop based on resonant connections.
Instructions
1) Gather materials from your metaphorical backyard. Pick up leaves, create etchings of stones, find a sticker at your local corner store, pick up a magazine.
2) Make a collage on the front of your postcard. Imagine someone in another neighborhood, fighting their own forms of contamination, receiving this card. Feel free to use symbols, words, or colors to get your message across. Let these questions guide you:
What are your community's fighting words?
What are the words that you'd cry out to protect your home?
What is your truth?
How do you let people know where you're from?
3) Write more about your experiences on the back of your postcard. Introduce yourself. Imagine that someone might respond to your postcard and share what goes on in their community. Share what you'd want them to know. Let these questions guide you:
How has contamination affected you or your community?
How have climate disasters made the situation worse?
What do you need from others to stay strong in the fight for our planet?
4) Send out your call. Let the echo resonate. Mail the postcard via the ecological post office at the museum: 3308 Garrow St., Houston, TX 77030.
Download the template:
Download and print the template here.
How to write to the Ecological Post Office:
Send your completed postcards to:
Houston Climate Justice Museum
3308 Garrow St.
Houston, TX 77003
To request a free kit which includes blank postcards, please email info@climatejusticemuseum.org
with your name and address.
