Geoforum 122 (2021) 41–54 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Geoforum journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/geoforum Does artistic activism change anything? Strategic and transformative effects of arts in anti-coal struggles in Oakland, CA Teresa Sanz a, *, Beatriz Rodriguez-Labajos a, b a Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain b Energy and Resources Group, University of California Berkeley, 310 Social Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T Keywords: Mushrooming opposition to coal mining and transportation in the United States (US) connects with both envi­ Artistic activism ronmental justice and climate justice movements. Artistic expressions are part of the strategic toolkit of these Socio-spatial transformations movements. Art’s capacity to foster cultural, cognitive and psychological changes is amply recognized by aca­ Anti-coal movement demics as well as by public in general. Nevertheless, the theoretical question of how art is linked to activist Environmental justice Social movements strategies and to socio-spatial transformations in environmental conflicts remains unexplored. This paper con­ Oakland, CA tributes to filling this gap by examining the emblematic struggle to stop the construction of a coal-export terminal in Oakland, CA. Our data includes 32 in-depth interviews of activists, artists and legal experts linked to the conflict surrounding this coal-export terminal. Non-participant observation and secondary data collection helped to contextualize the interviews. The results offer a timeline of the movement, a map of artistic expressions, and network analyses around the effects of environmental artistic activism. We demonstrate that creative activism has critical relevance for facilitating engagement, education and outreach of the anti- coal movement. Arts and its spatial impact benefited the movement by expanding its scale and making it more inclusive regarding de­ mographics, including particularly women and youth of color. The use of the arts raised environmental and political awareness and enhanced public participation in decision making. The paper connects the literatures of environmental justice, environmental humanities and human geography. We contribute to the yet underdevel­ oped dialogue discussing the capacity of art to influence socio-ecological structures and socio-spatial dynamics in cases of environmental justice conflict. 1. Introduction in the US (Bravo et al., 2016; Bullard and Wright, 2018). Aware of the power relationships behind global ecological, political and economic Recent projects to develop export terminals for fossil fuels along the dynamics (Martinez-Alier, 2002), the environmental justice and climate West Coast of North America face increasing opposition (Hazboun, justice movements see the need to foster imaginative routes towards 2019). Besides the implications for climate change, activists denounce alternative socio-environmental relationships (Wapner and Elver, the danger that transporting, storing, handling and shipping fossil fuels 2016). poses for neighboring communities (Boudet and Hazboun, 2019, Allen Environmental humanities have long pointed towards cultural et al., 2017). The transformative discourse opposing fossil fuels connects change as the way to tackle environmental problems (Heise, 2016; environment and climate impacts with social justice issues (Eve & Oppermann and Iovino, 2016). The transformative power of art relies on Croeser, 2017). These movements’ ultimate aim is not only to avoid the its capacity to spark cultural, cognitive and psychological changes (Bell construction of projects that aggravate climate change (UNFCCC, 2016), and Desai, 2011; Bleiker, 2018; Danchev, 2009). Resistance movements but also to trigger socio-environmental change to solve the crises and environmental activists use artistic expressions to educate (Blanc impacting local communities (Warlenius, 2018). and Benish, 2017), engage community in participation in decision Three out of four environmental hazards in the US are placed in poor making (Bianchi, 2018; Brewington and Hall, 2018), and strengthen and marginalized communities (Schlosberg and Collins, 2014). Race community identity (Văidianu et al., 2014). Moreover, artistic and plays a prominent role in exposure and response to environmental risks creative expressions are important for younger cohorts (Della Porta, * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: teresa.sanz@uab.cat (T. Sanz), Beatriz.rodriguez@uab.cat (B. Rodriguez-Labajos). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2021.03.010 Received 12 May 2020; Received in revised form 4 November 2020; Accepted 20 March 2021 Available online 10 April 2021 0016-7185/© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). T. Sanz and B. Rodriguez-Labajos Geoforum 122 (2021) 41–54 2013a) whose voices are currently leading climate justice protests on a and across generations (Adams, 1992). Today, the number of artists global scale (Carrington, 2019; Martínez García, 2020) working on ecology and sustainability is such that there is an annual Yet the academic literature comes short in bringing these theoretical dedicated prize to visual arts and sustainability, the COAL Art and perspectives to the ground level. Some studies have addressed the uses Environment Prize (Coal, 2020). of art in social movements (Adams, 2001; Eyerman and Jamison, 1998; Our topic of interest, coal exploitation and trade, has attracted the Mahon, 2000) and, to a lesser extent, in environmental movements interest of engaged artists in the past (Blanc and Benish, 2017; Thesing, (Ogaga, 2011; Sommer and Klöckner, 2019; Williams et al., 2010; 2000), and especially after the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Merlinsky and Serafini, 2021). Nevertheless, the theoretical question Conference (COP21) in Paris (UNFCC, 2015). In the Appalachians, the remains as to how activist art and campaigning strategies work together best-known coal territory in the US (Shapiro, 1993), music helps to to achieve maximum impact and, more broadly, what role art really express emotions and opinions about ongoing social injustice, labor plays in environmental conflicts. struggles, and claims to promote new identities after coal (Jenkins, This paper addresses this gap by analyzing how activist art is used in 2010). The poster ‘The True Cost of Coal’, by the artist-activist collective an emblematic fossil fuel resistance movement in Oakland, CA, where a Beehive Design, became an educational and organizational tool for coalition of movements for environmental, climate and social justice has grassroots organizations in Appalachia against coal extraction and resisted a coal export terminal since 2015 (Arnold, 2015). We system­ burning (Blanc and Benish, 2017). Similarly, theatre and performing atize the effects of the artworks used by different activists and artists arts served to produce and exchange of evidence for public health pol­ referring to the coal terminal and trace the concrete changes and anti- icies in coal mining towns (Byrne et al., 2018). coal strategies linked to the transformative power of art. The research Overall, researchers recognize the role of art in promoting sustain­ is thus guided by two questions: ability, for instance, by communicating climate change (O’Neill and Smith, 2014), captivating the general public (Blasch and Turner, 2016), Q1. How is the use of the arts linked to the strategies of the move­ and inspiring awareness and personal action about climate change ment against coal exports? (Anderson, 2018; Sommer and Klöckner, 2019). Participatory art has Q2. Which transformations and achievements of the anti-coal sought to engage with a community’s environmental knowledge (Sacco movement do activists recognize as related to the use of art? et al., 2019; Williams et al., 2010). Additionally, some hail art as an act of resistance to ‘redress historically silenced narratives’ (Ogaga, Overall, the paper seeks to contribute to the geographical aspects of 2011:98). the environmental justice literature (Kim et al., 2018; Raddatz and Therefore, it is not surprising that environmental humanities en­ Mennis, 2013) by systematizing situated knowledge about artistic dorses art as having the capacity to trigger the cultural change needed to activism against a potentially damaging project and determining the deal with the socio-environmental crisis (Iovino, 2019; Robin, 2018). local effect of arts in anti-coal movements. In this respect, the research Nevertheless, the environmental justice literature has done little to acknowledges environmental conflicts as a source of knowledge about connect, empirically and theoretically connect the actual processes of socio-spatial relations (Moore et al., 2017). We use an interdisciplinary resistance movements towards socio-environmental change with the use environmental humanities lens, discussing to what extent art triggers of the arts. socio-ecological change, including spatial transformation, when used by Environmental conflicts are social conflicts that manifest through mobilized communities. The opposition to coal exports in Oakland, social mobilizations in response to projects perceived like environ­ which has not been analyzed yet by the scholarly literature, is an mental threats like water, air, soil pollution, environmental and health example of the fossil-fuel export debate in western North America. Thus risks and impacts. (Conde, 2014; Rodriguez-Labajos and Martinez-Alier, the study adds to the new geographies of coal (Cardoso and Turhan, 2015). Racial and ethnic identities explain distributive injustices over 2018; Oskarsson et al., 2021) by positioning the vision and arguments of the location of environmental hazards (Agyeman et al., 2016; Pulido, local opponents to coal exports in northern countries. 2017). Movements for environmental justice made such a connection The remainder of this paper is divided as follows. The next section apparent, e.g., in the struggle against waste dumping in North Carolina offers a literature review about art in environmental and social move­ in 1982 (Bullard, 1994). A common goal of such mobilizations is the ments and the state of the coal industry in United States. The third material and political dissolution of projects perceived as socially and section details the research methods. The fourth section presents a brief environmentally adverse (Martinez-Alier, 2002; Nixon, 2011; Hess & history of the use of arts in the movement ‘No coal in Oakland’, and an Satcher 2019) analysis of the relation of artistic expressions with associated effects, Just as any project goes through stages, the strategies of a movement strategies, and transformations. These results are discussed in the fifth opposing a project are also diverse and evolving (Hess and Satcher, section, centered on the contribution of anti-coal artistic activism in 2019; Scheidel and Schaffartzik, 2019). That is, both conflicts and community-based strategies and the types of transformation art trig­ community mobilization go through different phases, in which the gered. The final section concludes. strategies of the environmental activists differ considerably, involving, e.g. engagement, networking, or education (Hess and Satcher, 2019; 2. Background Porto et al., 2018; Tormos-Aponte and García-López, 2018). The stra­ tegic ways in which art is used by environmental justice activists in their 2.1. Activist art in socio-environmental movements: contributions and campaigns throughout these different phases is not fully understood. In gaps particular, the overall strategies of anti-coal movements have never been studied vis-à-vis their use of the arts. Against the notion of an art divorced from morality and function, The theoretical interest of this enquiry transcends the concrete aim of activist art engaged deeply in politics and social change (Weibel, 2014). ending a project to prevent the material effects of environmentally Early in the 20th century, for instance, the Dadaist movement aligned destructive activities. Environmental problems cannot be solved without with politics and protests of social movements, also rejecting the a transformative approach towards “restructuring of dominant social re­ formalized artistic definitions of their contemporaries. In doing so, new lations and institutional arrangements” (Temper et al., 2018: 753), since forms of art making and protesting generated new artistic expressions gender, class, and ethnic identities explain distributive injustices over (Grindon, 2011). Similarly, art has been a catalyst of inspiration for the location and impacts of environmental hazards. The creation of green politics since the beginning of the modern environmentalism counter-narratives (Bell and Desai, 2011), strengthening of collective (Blanc and Benish, 2017). The tree-planting artwork ‘7000 Oaks’ by the identity and knowledge (Temper et al., 2018), and promoting recogni­ German Joseph Beuys, 1982, had an impact in cities around the world tion and participation (Della Porta, 2013b; Schlosberg, 2013) have a 42 T. Sanz and B. Rodriguez-Labajos Geoforum 122 (2021) 41–54 potential for socio-cultural transformations towards sustainability in the Utah mines have gained increasing attention after their recent in­ context of environmental conflicts. Following prefiguration politics terest in coal exportation through West Coast (Yardley, 2015). Coal (Maeckelbergh, 2011), environmental justice movements reflect in their producer Wolverine Fuels (formerly known as Bowie Resource Partners) daily life the world they want to create by embodying in their resistance saw the Port of Oakland as an option to expand mining operations practices the principles they advocate (Grosse, 2019; Rodríguez-Labajos (Loftus-Farren, 2015). The project evolved towards the combination of a et al., 2019). railway and a coal shipping terminal in the Port of Oakland. In 2011 they Arts have been used to challenge the status quo and imagine new joined forces with a local developer in charge of the company ‘Oakland realities (Anderson, 2018; Bell and Desai, 2011; Bleiker, 2018). From Bulk and Oversized Terminal LLC (OBOT)’, created to redevelop the this perspective, artistic practices stir togetherness and solidarity former Oakland Army Base (OBOT, 2019). (Mahon, 2000), communicate opinions to the larger society (Eyerman Oakland is a major West Coast port city in California, with 429,082 and Jamison, 1998) and raise political awareness (Adams, 2001; Eyer­ habitants in 2018 (Oakland City, 2019). As the industrial and trade man and Jamison, 1998). Furthermore, artistic practice has moved center of the San Francisco Bay Area, Oakland has a high concentration people to act politically and change the ways of thinking and under­ of pollutant sources, which configures a territory of environmental standing the world (Ryan, 2015). injustice (Fisher et al., 2006; McClintock, 2015; Rhomberg, 2004). East Despite the valuable contribution of the transformative potential of Oakland and West Oakland are the most exposed neighborhoods to arts, there is lack of clarity about what type of transformation should we environmental hazards, which affect a majority of African American, expect from the use of arts in sustainability, when, where, and how the Southeast Asian, and Latino populations that experience a high intensity transformation occurs and who is affected by it. These points constitute of poverty (Garzón et al., 2013). building blocks of a novel understanding of the links between art use and The US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) situates Oakland environmental conflicts. at the core of the country’s environmental justice movement. Since We will advance such an understanding building on three angles of 1999, community organizations pursuing environmental justice have transformations in the environmental justice: a) Material trans­ succeeded in shutting down an incinerator (Hamburg, 1998) and a yeast formations associated with the end of an environmentally and socially plant (DeFao, 2002), and in pushing for the management of toxic soils hazardous project (Martinez-Alier, 2002); b) Political transformations (Counts, 1999). This background proved the community’s capacity to encompassing regulatory changes, participation in decision making fight effectively against polluting industries. The Port of Oakland re­ processes, and gaining support from powerful actors (Della Porta, mains at the center of anti-pollution struggles, specially from sea ship­ 2013b; Hess and Satcher, 2019); c) Socio-cultural transformations ping and the carrying of diesel trucks (Hamilton and Wentworth, 2016). emerging from interactions between individuals, identity, values and Unsurprisingly, the threat of a new polluting project faced the knowledge (Rodríguez-Labajos et al., 2019; Temper et al., 2018). Thus, resistance of activists and residents. An opposition movement gained the contribution to the geographical aspects of the environmental justice support from the city council, worker unions, and diverse social move­ literature highlighted above lead us in identifying concrete changes ments. So far, they have stopped the exportation of coal from Oakland across these categories linked to the transformative power of art in the (Arnold, 2015; Express, 2018). Despite the interest of this movement in analyzed case. terms of the strategies used and how they are leading their path towards social environmental justice, the case has not yet been analyzed yet by 2.2. Opposition to coal exports within the anti-coal movements in United the scientific literature. States 3. Methodology Coal was and still is the fuel of global economic growth (Böll Stif­ tung, 2015). The US has biggest reserves of coal and is one of the world’s Careful consideration to positionality and ethics was part of the largest exporters, exporting 8.3% of global production in 2018 (EIA, research design, prior to the consultation with primary data sources. In 2019a). Falling natural gas prices, declines in the costs of wind and solar order to ensure adherence to principles of responsible research, the energy and, to a lesser extent, environmental regulations have reduced research protocol (including procedures for participants’ consent and coal’s popularity (EIA, 2018a). As a result, US coal demand has fallen by data management) was formally evaluated and approved by the Ethics more than one-third since peak production in 2008 (EIA, 2019b). Committee on Animal and Human Experimentation at the Universitat Meanwhile, activists in the US oppose coal denouncing the danger Autònoma de Barcelona (CEEAH-UAB). this industry imposes on communities, and the contribution to climate This research follows a mixed-methods approach guided by the two change from transporting, storing, handling and shipping fossil fuels research questions (Q1, Q2) presented in the introduction. Our con­ (Boudet & Hazboun, 2019). The climate justice and environmental ceptual map (Fig. 1) connects notions from environmental justice, social justice movements are particularly concerned (de Place, 2018). (Grun­ movements and transformations inspired by the background literature wald, 2015). review. Annex 1 includes a definition and elaboration of each key Still, researchers in cultural politics have discussed the persistent concept, as well as a detailed description of procedures for the data economic and political power of the fossil fuel industry, calling it the gathering, organization and analysis. coal complex (Roy and Schaffartzik, 2021; Brown and Spiegel, 2019). The compilation of background data started by reviewing regional President Donald Trump challenged the 2015 Paris Agreements, press, relevant social media posts, and webpages of activist groups. In repealing low-carbon transition policies with the slogan: ‘Trump Digs this period, we contacted potential interviewees by email and a snowball Coal’ (Walters, 2018). The end of the alleged ‘War on Coal’ meant sampling followed. In April and May 2019, semi-structured interviews overturning existing regulations regarding carbon emissions and were conducted with a total of 32-artists, activists and legal actors from attempting to revive the coal mining (Wang et al., 2019). different organizations (Annex 1) involved in the anti-coal movement in In a context of declining coal extraction and coal-mining employ­ Oakland. As part of the primary data collection, interviewees were asked ment, the industry survives thanks to international markets (Olkuski to describe the movement and associated artistic expressions, and to et al., 2019). Coal exports increased since 2016 (EIA, 2018b), driven by relate their experiences and perspectives about any socio-environmental the demand of countries like China and India whose industries rely on transformation since their involvement started (see Annex 1 for the coal-based energy (Clemente, 2018; Geels, 2014). This is in the origin of interview protocol). The research did not impose any given definition of proposals to build coal and other fossil-fuels exports terminals art, and we accepted as such anything that informants perceived to be –especially in military bases or other federal properties – on the West art. The artworks mentioned during the interviews were recorded with Coast (Brown, 2018). the title provided by the informants. 43 T. Sanz and B. Rodriguez-Labajos Geoforum 122 (2021) 41–54 Fig. 1. Concept map of the research, connecting key concepts, research questions (Q1, Q2), and data collection and organization methods. Source: Own elaboration. Interviews were coded using MAXQDA, a software for analysis of Supplementary non-participant and (occasionally) participant observa­ qualitative data. The codebook emerged from the analysis of the in­ tion included the attendance to events and activities organized by the terviews, although the grouping categories were informed by the movement during the fieldwork period (see Annex 1 for a list of attended background literature review (see codebook as Annex 2). Among the events). This helped refining the interview design, collecting back­ informants, 18 were artists (who consider themselves to be also activ­ ground information of the movement, contrasted later in the interviews, ists) and 14 non-artists; 10 informants (31% of the sample) were chil­ and expanding the network of contacts. dren, 9 (28% of the sample) were between 18 and 60 years old, and 13 Based on the compiled data, a detailed timeline, a map, and network (40% of the sample) were older than 60; 18 (56%) women, 12 (37%) representations of relevant concepts were developed using different men and 2 (6%) non-binary. The sample represents the demographics analytical tools (ArcGIS, Excel, Gephi). Annex 1 presents the corre­ (age, gender, race) of the movement. The high percentages of women, spondence between sources of data, analytical tools, and results. Sum­ retired people and under-age reflect their importance in organizing and marizing, the timeline was built from secondary data collection, non- leadership. The analysis had into consideration possible differences in participant observation and a form with a timeline completed during the use of artistic expressions according to age and gender. interviews. The timeline was the base for the chronological description Direct observation also contributed to primary data collection in two of relevant events, as well as the timing of strategies, artworks and ways: by inspecting and mapping the places where the conflict and transformations mentioned by the informants (Fig. 2, Annex 3). The map artistic expressions occurred, and by complementing the interview data. was built from direct observation and interviews. It served to connect Fig. 2. Timeline of the movement against coal in Oakland. Source: Own elaboration. 44 T. Sanz and B. Rodriguez-Labajos Geoforum 122 (2021) 41–54 the artworks with the place and discuss their spatial impact (Fig. 4). The segregation by governmental design, including that polluting industries are put networks of concepts resulted from the codification of the data obtained into the neighborhoods where Black people were allowed to live.” (MM, in­ in the interviews. Network analysis allowed data visualization and the dependent artist, NCiO). representation of the frequency and co-occurrence of codes in the in­ During the first months, the group focused on finding support from terviews. The codes categories used for network analysis were “anti-coal other environmental groups, unions and health workers and the faith strategies”, “effects of art”, “targets” and “transformations” (Fig. 5 and community. House signs with the message “No Coal in Oakland” con­ Fig. 6). formed the first image-based artworks of the movement. The signs were placed through all Oakland, with the purpose of calling the attention to 4. Results the situation. The group also created a website with posts of news about the cause that informants see as an artistic piece due to the profusion of 4.1. The history of the use of arts in the anti-coal movement in Oakland visual elements, such as photos and graphic design. Interestingly, worker unions and port workers were key for the anti- This section explains the history of the movement and the most coal coalition. “Oakland wouldn’t benefit economically very much. I mean significant events, the strategies and artworks used and their location. A the bankers always say ‘jobs, jobs, jobs’. But the number of jobs that would be complete timeline of the movement is shown as Fig. 2. An extended needed to operate that would be like twelve or so. Meaningless.” (JR, Rose version of the timeline is presented as Annex 3. Fig. 4 presents a map Foundation). with the location of the artistic expressions. NCiO got information about the legal state of the project, and learned that the City Council could, under public health and safety regulation, 4.1.1. Building the movement and spreading the message block the project. Therefore, the strategy during the second stage was The Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal (OBOT) project, as twofold. On the one hand, coalitions with different environmental and planned by a well-known local developer from Oakland, was not con­ social organizations were sought so that the movement could generate tested until 2015, when negotiations between the developer and the its own knowledge base. On the other hand, the creation of a big coa­ Utah coal industry became public (Reaper, 2015). In May 2015, a lition aimed at participating in decision making towards stopping the movement against this project was formed with the motto “No Coal in project. Oakland” (NCiO). The core group of people in this movement, came from different parts of Oakland and different social and environmental 4.1.2. Starting to take action movements such as “System Change Not Climate Change”, “Idle No The first street demonstration took place in the “Bike to Work Day” More”, “Occupy Oakland” and the Civil Rights Movement. (May 2015). Artists and activists dumped charcoal in front of Rotunda When asked about the position the movement as an environmental Building, in downtown Oakland, and called the street-performance justice or as a climate justice movement, interviewees refer to both the “Dumping Coal.” Pictures from this action appeared in the local news­ local and global impact of coal, although typically emphasize elements papers in the following days, and the name of the movement NCiO of racial injustice and demographic segregation in Oakland: “So locally, circulated widely (Tepperman, 2015). Other artistic forms were used for West Oakland is largely African-American. In this country we have housing contestation that day. Activists prepared their first banners combining texts with images. Children recited poems directed to the public in general, decision makers, and to the developer. While waiting for a judicial decision, the activists tried to reach as many people as possible. During this stage, NCiO organized teachings with social collectives like Black Live Matter and the housing movement. They wrote reports about health and safety and sent letters and signed petitions to politicians and developers. They also prepared press releases for local newspapers like the San Francisco Chronicle, the East Bay Ex­ press, and the Oakland Post. The message targeted decision makers like Governor Brown, urging them to act. NCiO took advantage of the increasing global attention on climate change and participated in 2015′ s Oakland Climate March together with other regional environmental justice organizations. The NCiO poster, launched that day, deserves a special mention (Fig. 3). It was silkscreened in front of the City Council in the Climate March and it was amply used in the anti-coal mobilization. The artist who created the image remembers: “We wanted to get the message out to the community, and the best way is a big bold poster. Then they took the image and made their own street signs and then gave them out too. […] They made some T-shirts.” (JP, Artist). The NCiO T-shirt became a useful and popular artwork for the activists, who wore it often, especially in court hearings (as observed directly during fieldwork) and in social events and marches around the city (e.g., the Climate March). Some activists used it during our interviews. Other popular expression of NCiO actions were the Occupella songs, sung in every demonstration. The performers used the music from popular songs and adapted the lyrics to the anti-coal struggle. BL from Occupella explained: “The idea was rewriting songs to get people to sing […] it’s really hard to get people to sing to an original tune. Using tunes that people are going to know them enough, people are going to sing together”. (BL, in­ dependent artist- NCiO). Fig. 3. “No Coal in Oakland” poster by the artist John Paul Bail. The strategies behind these actions aimed at engaging more and With permission. more people, educating the general public, generating “their own 45 T. Sanz and B. Rodriguez-Labajos Geoforum 122 (2021) 41–54 Fig. 4. Anti-coal artistic activism location. Source: Own elaboration. science” to expand the knowledge and information base of the move­ After this second hearing, seven Council members unanimously ment and demanding participation in the legal decision-making process. voted to uphold the ban on transporting coal. The whole community and the activists celebrated the Council’s decision. They expressed their joy 4.1.3. Success: The second hearing and the ban to coal transportation through songs, cheered by Occupella musicians. That day was the most The most important public hearing according to the interviewees was successful event that interviewees remember. The ‘successful strategy of held in June 2016. More than 600 people testified against the project. the movement’ combined organizational, educational, and knowledge- Many dozens of Oakland’s children, elders, faith leaders, workers, pol­ generating strategies that generated a popular movement and allowed iticians, business owners, pediatricians, teachers, and artists partici­ participation in decision making. pated. “I never saw a community come together to fight like this like to the coal terminal. You never saw anything like that before.” (BB, WOEIP). 4.1.4. Silent movement and maintaining the life of the issue The artist DS and the photographer BA honored all these efforts with The City Council’s ban to coal was not the end of the battle against the transmedia piece called “Faces of Coal Resistance” at Oakland City coal in Oakland. Five months later, the developer filed a federal claim Hall. The artists used “photos that were reflective of all the different parts of against City, claiming that the ban violates his constitutional and the community that had come out to protest the coal” (DS, Independent federally protected right to ship coal. A period that interviewees Artist), enlarged, printed and put them in sticks and used them as signs. describe as a turn to a “silent movement” started, as the case entered a Another part of the piece was a nighttime projection of these photos on litigation process. Written artistic expressions were always present the City Hall. The purpose was to make “ordinary people to be the heroes throughout all the city like the announcements in Grant Lake Theatre and the leaders” (DS, Independent Artist). that claimed with glowing lights: “We praise Oakland stand against the This hearing would be the first opportunity for children to publicly deplorable lawsuit to inflict planet killing coal on our community”. advocate formally to decision making. Informants remembered children In this context, young people helped “maintaining the life of the using emotive poems to express their opinions about the project, that issue”. Youth organizations such as “Youth vs Apocalypse” and other caused deep impact. From this day, children would be frequently pho­ youth social justice movements took a central role. Led by young people tographed and quoted. In fact, informants recall:” We’ve had students of color, these organizations strongly represent the West Oakland recite poems […] so many different times in front of City Hall and in front of community. Organizations like 350.org, Rose Foundation and Clean council members (CZ, Rose Foundation)”. A young activist explained: “I Energy Alliance were focused in organizing and supporting youth think poetry it’s to make people feel things and to also for the Author to be activism and they hosted summer programs and educational sessions. able to authentically express what they’re trying to get out.” (IC, Youth vs They educated kids about climate change and its relation to the coal Apocalypse). project. Education initiatives included artistic activities like the creation In this stage, art and activism were used together for purposes such as of memes were kids merged images and text in a multimedia format, expressing opinions, and getting attention to the issue. Yet in the judicial collective painting of the banner “New Year No Coal”, and craft process, public health professionals played a key role. “There was a building. clause in there that said basically ‘the city can’t change the terms except for Young activists organized several anti-coal demonstrations that in­ health and safety’. So, to do that, we had to show ‘this is what the science formants regarded as artworks themselves. Youth’s advocacy was says’” (AH, NCiO). essentially based in artistic activism. Youngsters occupied the streets 46 T. Sanz and B. Rodriguez-Labajos Geoforum 122 (2021) 41–54 Fig. 5. Network analysis between types of art (Green nodes), art’s effect (blue nodes) and user (pink nodes). Note: the size of the nodes and the edges reflects the number of times a given item (and their interaction) was mentioned by the interviewees. . (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.) Source: Own elaboration based on force-directed Model Force Atlas 2 dressed as zombies or elves, performing, singing and carrying banners about what their money is being used for’ and ‘trying to get people to go there they designed. The strategy was “direct truth telling about the project sign a letter” (NS, NCiO). including creativity and fun, and making it something that feels good to be When asked about the current state of the conflict, interviewees part of, emotionally and spiritually”. (CO, 350.org). These artistic dem­ believe to have won the battle. In the Federal Courts the litigation onstrations were mainly in downtown Oakland around the U.S Court­ continues via several ongoing cases. The activists see themselves part of house, the City Council, the developer’s office at Rotunda Building, but a growing global movement for climate and against fossil fuels. Their also in other parts of the city, such as the kids’ schools, or near the de­ presence at the mural painting celebrated at the Climate Justice Mural veloper’s residence. project at San Francisco in 2018 serves as a visual representation. Their Meanwhile, the core NCiO group was “trying to figure out how does the mural portrayed a pollutant industry using the colors of the movement: funding of such a project work and how do we find out who might be con­ red, yellow and black. tacted for the whole project” (NS, NCiO). In May 2018, a federal judge Interviewees see their main achievement as the fact that the terminal overturned the ban, to the advantage of the developer in the legal battle project has been stopped thus far, even after a subsequent adverse court (Veklerov, 2018). Therefore, the activists had to look for other ways to decision in May 2020 (Dinzeo, 2020). They celebrate the building of a stop the project. solid movement that opposes the project. In sum, during this silent period the movement aimed at influencing Thus, artistic expressions were present throughout the timeline of the the developer, keeping the community mobilized, and engaging more movement. The interviewees recall 28 different expressions that span all people through education. Youth artistic activism became central. The the period (Fig. 2) all around the city (Fig. 4). core NCiO group explored new avenues to stop the project through legal Most of the pieces intended to expose the community views and the or financial means. socio-environmental injustice of the project and to explain the dangers of coal. Coal is portrayed as a polluting, hazardous, and toxic element. 4.1.5. Today: Block the money The term or the visual representation of ‘community’ appears often. Red, In 2018 the movement discovered that the Bank of Montreal may black, and yellow colors dominate the visuals. The No-coal in Oakland fund the project. Taking advantage of the Meeting for Principles of poster (Fig. 3), described as the most representative of the movement, Responsible Investment at Marriott Marquis Hotel in San Francisco, a uses black to represent the dark coal dust, and red as the color of the loud demonstration in front of the venue involved dances and music movement (e.g., the NCiO t-shirts were red). coordinated by different artists. The demonstrators handed out infor­ The poster shows a factory burning big piles of coal, and the coal mative flyers, that included creative graphics that represented “a pile of train emitting plumes of smoke with the text “coal dust”. As the artist coal and a bunch of dollar bills coming out of it”, with the purpose of explained, the intention is to depict the coal dust “that would blow off into “getting to somebody who doesn’t really care about those issues but is worried us” (JP, independent artist). The slogan “kids can’t breathe” and a skull 47 T. Sanz and B. Rodriguez-Labajos Geoforum 122 (2021) 41–54 Fig. 6. Chord diagram of anti-coal strategies (orange), activist art effect (blue), art-induced transformations (red) and target of the artworks (pink). Note: the size of the nodes and connecting ties reflects the number of times a given item (and their interaction) was mentioned by the interviewees.. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.) Source: Own elaboration mask stress the scientific argumentation that coal harms the health of (indicated with the size of the nodes), and the relation and co- the Oakland citizens. “It invokes pollution and death” (BB, WOEIP). The occurrence between them and the users (width of ties and the close­ New Bay Bridge in the background and a graffiti on the train convey ness between nodes). Education, social cohesion and expressing opinions Oakland’s local identity. The informants that mentioned this poster are the three most frequently perceived effects of anti-coal artistic praised its contribution to the recognition of diverse community views activism. Among the artistic expressions, image-based pieces and au­ in environmental decision making and to make the environmental diovisuals are the most popular expression of the anti-coal movement. injustice behind the project visible. “You can’t disagree with what’s on this Another network allows visualizing the chained connection between poster. I think it brings people to the issue who might otherwise not have the strategies of the movement, the effects of artistic activism and the thought about it. It activates people who are more emotional than perhaps perceived transformations (Fig. 6). The size of the nodes indicates the rhetoric based” (BB, WOEIP). frequency of mentions in the interviews, and the width of the tie in­ Spatially (Fig. 4), 46% the artworks occurred in Downtown Oakland, dicates items’ cooccurrence. This figure reveals an interest of the anti- in front of the City Council, targeting decision makers and the general coal movement beyond education, towards engaging more people in public and in the nearby Rotunda Building, addressing the developer. the movement, organizing members of community, and promoting 28% were itinerary, such as practices during marches to the City participation in decision making. Council, or to the Lake Merritt. Kids’ artworks were the most aimed to Interestingly, education is most frequently perceived effect of art the developer (Fig. 6), thus they were performed in their office or near (Fig. 5, Fig. 6). Education appears directly connected with image-based his residence (e.g., Zombie Coal-pocalypse). 28% were at relevant places expressions like banners, posters, signs, and online media (e.g., the NCiO in San Francisco like the Federal Building and the Civic Center Plaza. website, and Angelica’s animation about coal). As an example of Just 7% of the artworks were located in West Oakland, near the planned combining art’s effect in education and in getting public attention: “it’s a building site of the coal terminal. Fifty-four percent of the pieces were catchy, it’s colorful, it directs people’s attention and it tells people what created for ephemeral events, out of which 27% were performances (e.g. you’re about, people start asking questions and people feel a lot of folks know Coal dumping, theater plays, Elf delegation), and 40% were image-based that this is happening and it raises awareness” (CZ, Rose Foundation). expressions (e.g., the banner used in the youth march against coal). Rising local environmental awareness follows the combination of educa­ tion and increased public attention (Fig. 6) Image-based media is among the more mentioned artworks during 4.2. Connecting art, effects and strategies of the movement interviews. Pieces such as the anti-coal poster, big banners and collective murals were the most referred to; they also were connected to all A network of concepts displays the relationships between artwork’s perceived effects of arts, especially education, social cohesion, increasing effect (blue), type of medium (green), and users (pink) (Fig. 5). The participation, expressing opinions, and getting attention. Furthermore, network shows the more frequently depicted artwork type and effects 48 T. Sanz and B. Rodriguez-Labajos Geoforum 122 (2021) 41–54 image-based expressions are the preferred media for adults, women, and Similarly, the capacity to increase participation engages youth. This children, as the direct ties of the “users” nodes in Fig. 5 reveal. Image- effect concurs with the possibility to express opinions and thus a feeling of based artworks and online media showed information about the con­ empowerment. Furthermore, the youth movement is characterized by flict using drawings, symbols and colors that depicted the impacts and the activism of children of color who see their role as actors of change. injustice of the coal terminal, providing an avenue for the activists to “It talks a lot about challenging the dominant paradigm… these pieces of art express their opinion to the public at large. create change for the creators” said CZ (Rose Foundation) talking about The NCiO t-shirts contributed notably to social cohesion and to get the “New Year No Coal Banner” created for a youth demonstration people’s attention (see node “clothing” in Fig. 5). “We’d have the experi­ organized by a girl of color. As the demographics of the movement ence of wearing them and people coming up and asking us about it and stuff expanded, artistic activism also made it more inclusive: “I think art is just like that” (SS, NCiO). “You now feel a part of something and connecting with different ways of reaching out to different types of people with different kinds other people” (LM, Faith Community). In fact, the T-shirt alone of experiences and types of learning” (IC, Youth vs Apocalypse). Oral/ contributed as much to social cohesion as all the rest of audiovisuals and written narratives (e. g., poems) and image-based expressions (e. g, songs. For the NCiO supporters, the T-shirts were also a way to honor banners and murals) contribute the most to social inclusion. and support their own activism. Interestingly, social cohesion responds Fig. 6 also shows the strong connection of perceived educative effects directly to the movement organizational strategy of engaging people in of art with rising local environmental and political awareness. The the movement and organizing the community (Fig. 6). ability to educate in an attractive and catchy way makes people sensitive Oral and written narratives had an important role in expressing to the environmental concerns affecting their community. opinions. Children used them twice as much as adult and woman activists (Fig. 5) to join the anti-coal strategy of participating in decision making 4.3.1.1. Political transformations moderately related to educative effects of (Fig. 6). Interviewees remember poems in City Council hearings as a art.. NCiO promoted political transformations that cannot be attributed major form of advocacy for decision making of young activists, espe­ directly to the effect of the arts. That is the case of gaining the political cially poems recited by young women of color. This is an example of a support that would eventually lead to the legal ban on coal trans­ coincidence of preferences between women and children. Interviewees portation. It is worth emphasizing that this transformation is connected would explain: “most of them [children activists] are girls. And all the to education, the most impactful effect of artistic activism. This is well- adult supporters are female” (CO, 350.org). Similarly, “the youth were both known by the activists: “I feel like that education is part of agitating people male and female, mostly female. And the same with the adults that are to act” (JT, Clean Energy Alliance); “the important thing for the grow of this involved, mostly female” (JT, Clean Energy Alliance). Artistic demon­ movement is education, more people have to see […], so I really like to hold strations qualified as “performances”, were also a place of convergence banners, in the maximum exposure” (MB, NCiO). Besides being the most for children and women activist. The main effect was to get attention of frequently mentioned effect, directly connected with image-based ex­ the general public, and contributed this way to the strategic purpose of pressions like banners, posters, signs, and online media (Fig. 5), edu­ organizing the community and calling media attention. cation connects practically all the strategies, transformations and targets, especially the organizational anti-coal strategy of educating the 4.3. Art, strategies and transformation. public (Fig. 6). The NCiO movement triggered transformations, as perceived by the 4.3.1.2. Material transformations poorly connected with art.. In­ interviewees, that we have grouped in three categories (socio-cultural, terviewees did not directly link the arts to the most important material political, and material), with the aim to connect with literature on transformation perceived by the movement: Stopping the terminal. The environmental conflicts and social movements. Nearly half of the educational effect was the only one somewhat connected to achieving perceived changes are socio-cultural transformations that started since the legal ban to coal. This raises the question as to what extent artistic the first stages of the mobilization. Several political and material expressions are truly necessary for the success of the movement. When transformations occurred after the city’s ban coal. In particular, the interviewees were directly asked this question, two basic positions chord diagram in Fig. 6 reveals three patterns of art-induced trans­ emerged. formation that are described next. – No movement without art. Some interviewees, and specially artists, 4.3.1. Socio-cultural transformations highly related with relational effects conceived art as part of human nature, not only in this movement but of art historically. A young activist said: “I’ve never known a social justice The creation of a solid and artistic movement, its expanding de­ movement without art” (IC, Youth vs Apocalypse). An experienced mographics and advocacy capacities, and the increased engagement of social activist agreed: “I think without it would be very different. I mean younger cohorts were socio-cultural transformations most frequently I can’t imagine not having the banners and not having that kind of visual associated with artistic practice of the anti-coal movement. Several ef­ expression”. (JL, NCiO and Thousand Grandmothers). fects of the arts converge in the creation of a solid movement. Mean­ while, the expanding demographics, advocacy capacities, and youth Under this vision, the activist art of social movements is linked to the participation rely on the connection with audiences, increased partici­ cultural conception of mobilization. For them, it makes sense that one of pation, the possibility of expressing opinions, and the empowering effect the transformations triggered by the movement was “becoming an of the arts. artistic movement”. “A movement has music, artists and intellectuals, in­ Artistic means helped to expand the demographic composition of the tellectuals need someone to do art […] Like Emory Douglas from the Black movement due in part to their role in communication. Different kinds of Panthers: they were activists in the room. And he had to become the artist of people and their respective understandings identify with the movement the group, he was the only artist in the room” (JP, artist). This is linked to thanks to art’s effect in connecting with a variety of audiences. “Spe­ inspirational and entertaining effects of the arts. cifically, communities of color, environmental justice communities, immi­ grant communities, for example, where maybe the language is different. If you – Art is one effort among many others. Many activists agreed that the have a visual, sometimes you don’t even need to speak that language to un­ arts were part of the toolkit of the movement, together with legal, derstand the issue […] A role that art places specifically in these campaigns is organizational and knowledge strategies. “Art by itself doesn’t make communicating with a wider audience” (JT, Clean Energy Alliance). Thus, change but art together with smart organizing and strategy can be very artistic practices and enjoyment increase participation and became a powerful” (MB, NCiO). This is linked to the effect of art of giving space of encounter for everyone. 49 T. Sanz and B. Rodriguez-Labajos Geoforum 122 (2021) 41–54 “honor and support” to the activists’ work: “There is two arms to this recognition in environmental decision making. This way, environmental movement […] who wants to talk about the financial goings on in Mon­ justice movements use cultural expressions to make visible their strug­ treal and someone who wants to figure out how to paint the street. Those gles (Martínez-Alier, 2021). are really different conversations. And I think that we’ve done a good job Beyond entertainment and social cohesion, art was a vehicle for of respecting that both of those things need to happen” (TF, NCiO). political mobilization, as pointed out by Ogaga (2011). Banners, per­ formances, and poems recited in front of the City Hall were critical in the Interestingly, none of the interviewees endorsed the idea of a expression of discontent, and in the activists’ request to the City Council movement devoid of the arts. to act against the project. Our research has unveiled concrete effects and functions within this process, linking Ogaga’s understanding of art as an 5. Discussion act of militancy to the actual strategies of the anti-coal movement. Artistic militancy led to effective interventions that fostered the Combined, the above results point to two major findings regarding participation of the community in decision making and the education of the use artworks in anti-coal struggles. The first one is that creative the public. Notably, artistic activism was the main form of expression activism is a necessary component in the strategic toolkit of anti-coal youth used for advocacy, specially by reading poems. movements, with critical relevance for engagement, education and outreach. The second one is that the use of the arts triggers socio-cultural 5.2. Transformative effect of art transformations desired by environmental justice movements and un­ derpins political changes. The contribution to the material trans­ 5.2.1. Socio-cultural transformation: inclusiveness formations that constitute the ultimate goal of the struggle is mostly Inclusiveness was the other key transformation of the struggle. indirect. Artistic activism contributed to the expansion of the demographics of the anti-coal movement and the overcoming of demographic barriers. 5.1. Creative activism as a necessary component in the strategic toolkit of Seasoned activists raised the first voices against the project, but the anti-coal movements. social transformations were particularly influenced by the work of youth activist groups, consisting mainly of young girls of color. The turn to­ A striking finding regarding the arts’ influence on anti-coal strategies wards a more inclusive movement is significant in environmental justice is its role in engaging people and organizing community, beyond being a communities that were already fighting for racial justice and social mere resource for dissemination and awareness. In the analyzed case, art justice (Reinke, 2019; Schlosberg, 2013). was present since the very beginning of the mobilization. Art fueled the Young activists introduced performances and poems in the mobili­ spread of concerns about the project and energized the struggle keeping zations. Such pieces served to empower, to increase the participation of it alive during periods of apparent stagnation. This is of particular sig­ children and other affected communities of color, and to connect with nificance given that good community organization is a challenging task different types of audiences. Artworks emerged as a fun, jazzy and for environmental justice groups and communities (Larsen et al., 2015). friendly choice for demonstrating opposition, with the advantage of Once achieved, community mobilization has proved to be key for producing aesthetics that engaged different kinds of people. blocking effectively polluting activities (Leonard, 2018; McAdam and In Oakland, youth of color identified their advocacy against the coal- Boudet, 2012). exports project as a source of awareness about the social conflicts in Social movements scholars recognized the relevance of organiza­ their community and in their capacity to be agents of change. Through tional and social networks for social movement mobilization (Snow the arts, they gained a voice and wielded power to denounce an et al., 1980). In the analyzed case, the effect of artistic activism in social important local developer apart from being the main militant force in cohesion and increasing participation were the most influential for ‘maintaining the issue alive’ during the silent period of the movement. organizational strategies of the movement. For instance, singing This way, children of color demanded a metaphoric space within the together had a significant incidence in enhancing feelings of collectivity, environmental and climate justice movements, as women of color did in solidarity and social cohesion. the People’s Park Movement in the late Cold War era (Lovell, 2018). Indeed, social cohesion is critical in environmental resistance Several scholars have pointed the use of art as a tool to empower movements (Rodríguez-Labajos et al., 2019; Schlosberg and Collins, disadvantaged communities (Brewington and Hall, 2018; Lovell, 2018). 2014), especially in challenging power structures over the uses of public Blurred limits between political will and art shaped this process in spaces that disrupt community life (Lefebvre, 1991). This disruption can Oakland, although considering activist art as the only source of even involve violence against environmental defenders resisting coal empowerment would be naïve. Still, the co-occurrence of “empower­ projects around the globe (Scheidel et al., 2020; Roy and Martinez-Alier, ment” with other effects such as “increased participation” and 2019; Watts, 2018). Our results support previous analyses showing the “connection with audiences” calls for the acknowledgement of artistic effectiveness of artistic means to enhance community participation and activism as a mechanism to challenge power relations, and to promote social cohesion within activism (Byrne et al., 2018), and in context of inclusion within the movement. Siding Reed (2005), the NCiO move­ environmental conflicts (Harper et al., 2018). Activists wearing the ment was a transformative experiences for those who take part in it. NCiO t-shirt created a joint identity and an enhanced feeling of collec­ Consistent with Serafini’s (2015) participants of activist performance in tivity; they were using the same signs that, as Otte (2019) puts it, rep­ Oakland were also political agents. Indeed, kids and communities of resented shared values. The artistic object, a material entity, color became involved, physically and symbolically, with the anti-coal communicated ideas, opinions, and struggles. This aligns with organi­ struggle though artistic activism and in this process, they developed zational aesthetics theories (Taylor, 2002; Sorsa et al., 2018) that posi­ their political subjectivity. tion clothes as communicative artistic pieces with incidence on Radical environmental justice and climate justice movement seek to organizational strategies. regain power over dominant forces (Croeser, 2017). Segregation re­ On the other hand, environmental-justice activists emphasize the produces environmental injustice (Pavel, 2015). Therefore, overcoming need of community participation in decision-making processes. The demographic antagonisms and including everyone is a pre-requisite for demand of “a place at the table” (Schlosberg, 2004) was one of the promoting transformations towards justice and fairness (Kwon and claims and strategy of “No Coal in Oakland” that, interestingly, was Nicolaides, 2019). Scholars studying the Regional Climate Justice highly catalyzed by artistic activism. As pointed in the results section, movement in the Bay Area have already detected the advocacy potential both the house signs and the poster showed the distress of the commu­ of vulnerable community members such as young African-American nity over the project; they were the first claim of community views women (Pavel, 2015). Our results complement this idea by pointing to 50 T. Sanz and B. Rodriguez-Labajos Geoforum 122 (2021) 41–54 artistic expression potential for social inclusion in the context of envi­ by barriers of inequalities that decades of pro-social justice initiative are ronmental conflicts. yet to dismantle (Reinke, 2019). Through arts, prevalent injustices were made apparent to demographics and communities outside West Oakland 5.2.2. Socio-cultural and political transformation: awareness through but still in the local and regional context. Art was the embodied way of education moving an issue away from the space directly affected by the project. A Communities impacted by environmental hazards often create their similar “transporting effect” occurs when murals in urban landscapes own knowledge to confront big corporations (de Sousa Santos, 2012). In bring to the present the memories of past social struggles with (Eyerman, this respect, three strategies of the movement ‘No Coal in Oakland’ 2014). At the same time, the movement reflected on the impacts of coal (education of the public, generate own knowledge and media outreach) beyond the local contexts and became aware of the global effects of revolve around knowledge and communication of the environmental paralyzing coal exports. This is a clear example of how contemporary and climate injustices that the OBOT project would reproduce. Inter­ activism combines local with global impact of their actions (Della Porta, estingly, when art was used for anti-coal contestation, educative effects 2013a). were the most visible outcome. Indeed, the literature addressing the role Artistic expressions create tangible experiences of coal impacts in the of art environmental justice conflicts (Fuller and McCauley, 2016), Oakland landscape that today only exist on paper, but that could climate issues (Gabrys and Yusoff, 2012; Heras and Tàbara, 2014; potentially modify the urban dynamics. Indeed, “art is the place of Iovino, 2019; Sommer et al., 2019) and ecological change (Ballard, imminence – the place where we catch sight of things that are just at the 2017) focusses on science communication and promotion of environ­ point of occurring” (Flynn, 2016 quotes (García Canclini, 2015: xiii). As mental awareness. Our results advance previous contributions by pointed by Brown et al. (2017) and Patsiaouras et al. (2018) spatiality analyzing art created by the environmental movement itself rather than and aesthetics are key for to attract a large number of participants in environmentally-motivated artists. protests, and to reinforce the visibility of their message. While the Artworks, and specially banners, posters, and murals against coal in general public was a main target of the anti-coal messages in Oakland, Oakland, helped activists communicate the hazardous impacts of coal on the movement aimed at making the issue visible to decision makers and the community. This resulted in social change by rising local political even the developer by getting close to their regular spaces of operation. and environmental awareness. Theories on environmental humanities Mapping the artistic expressions has allowed us to understand the that encourage the use of arts for rising environmental awareness to spatially of this incidence, that responds to the strategies of the meet the climate change challenge point to the same direction (Art­ movement. COP21, 2019; Galafassi et al., 2018; Kim Sommer and Andreas Klöckner, All in all, this research acknowledges the interdisciplinary work on 2019). In fact, a popular outcome of social movement actions is the inter-relationships between art and environmental conflicts and changing culture (Juris et al., 2014). contributes to expand the theoretical framework to address specific role Yet the effect of artistic activism in a context of resistance on of art in anti-coal movements in an urban context in the US, with im­ fostering cultural transformation towards sustainability is still under- plications in the global geography of coal. The findings of the study studied. Our results suggest that the transformative potential of educa­ come from a specific, albeit emblematic, case study. We acknowledge tion through the arts not only influenced local environmental and po­ limits to generalization. Socio-ecological conflicts largely depend on litical awareness, but also induced the political transformation sought by contextual conditions (Heras and Tàbara, 2014; Iovino, 2019), as well as activists through increased political support. With their artistic work, the scope of action of the social movements around them. We can then environmental movements push for a local environmentally conscious presume that artistic activism only makes sense in the context where it is society, and with this they drive a political transformation that affects created. This research unveils the importance of understanding the urban geographies as well. culture, the place, and the intentions behind the use of an artistic In the Oakland anti-coal coalition, education appears directly con­ expression in an environmental justice conflict. Therefore, context de­ nected with image-based expressions like banners, posters, and signs. pendency and the individual experiences of participants should be There is an increasing literature on the effects of audiovisuals – espe­ properly explored in further attempts to understand environmental cially documentaries and images – in generating awareness about artistic activism. climate change and enhance participation of affected local communities Another precautionary note has to do with the concepts of ‘change’ (Blasch and Turner, 2016; Nicholson-Cole, 2005; Suarez et al., 2008). and ‘transformation’ as the adopted methodology relies on subjective The anti-coal movement in Oakland made little use of films. In contrast, perceptions about the processes at hand. While the material process of they chose site-specific media with direct incidence on the urban space preventing coal exports actually happened, activists preferred to focus (like banners, posters, outdoor building projection, t-shirts, songs). The on socio-cultural and political transformations in their statements. Un­ resulting on local environmental awareness, reduced segregation and deniably, the study reveals the significance of activist art in the strategic fostered social cohesion are arguably similar with the benefits of films. toolkit of social movements and unpacks its key components. Yet this choice of media highlights the importance of spatiality in the use of artistic activism. 6. Conclusions 5.2.3. Material transformation and the spatiality of the artworks. Artistic expressions are part of environmental movements’ efforts to None of our results demonstrated a direct connection between promote a sustainable future. Nevertheless, the literature neglected the activist art with material transformations (i.e. stopping the terminal). study of the concrete strategies and outcomes in the use of artistic ex­ Still, interviewees were respectful of the influence of every anti-coal pressions in environmental justice movements. This study has system­ action for paralyzing the project. They conceived art as essential or atized different effects of art, and identified the connection between supportive tool of the mobilization. Accordingly, material trans­ artistic activism, anti-coal strategies and perceived socio-spatial formation was only indirectly related to artistic activism. transformations. Yet at this point it is worth noticing that the effects of arts depend on Our empirical evidence relies on the efforts (so far successful) to stop time and place. As discussed above, art had an incidence on inclusion the construction of a coal-export terminal in Oakland. A chronological and in Oakland this has a spatial implication. Although the project was review of the actions undertaken by the movement ‘No Coal in Oakland’ planned to be built on the coastline and affect West Oakland, most of the reveals several phases in which the strategies of the activists and the use artworks happened outside those areas. The claims of the West Oakland of artistic expressions interweave. According to the interviewees, art did community moved to other parts of the city and even the crossed the San not produce any direct material change in the urban landscape. Never­ Francisco Bay. These areas, just some miles away, are regularly divided theless, artistic activism was fundamental to shape socio-spatial 51 T. Sanz and B. Rodriguez-Labajos Geoforum 122 (2021) 41–54 dynamics that enhanced social cohesion and engagement with the Allen, M., Bird, S., Breslow, S., Dolšak, N., 2017. 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