A SolarPunk event in Pittsburgh in May: What to expect at Pittsburgh’s Solar Punk Future! event | 90.5 WESA

As the world faces a climate crisis, the need for sustainable and environmentally-conscious living is becoming increasingly clear. To raise awareness about this issue, multiple Pittsburgh organizations are uniting to create an event highlighting the benefits of an eco-friendly future.

The Solarpunk movement offers an alternative to the bleak cyberpunk vision of the future. The event promotes a community-led, sustainable future as a hopeful goal to strive toward – in contrast to the hopeless climate messages that circulate on social media and in the news.

“Art has the power to bring diverse groups of people together to have both individual and shared experiences,” says Wolovich. “We need more people to not only know about environmental issues — but we need them to become inspired and actively engaged in building solutions. Creative people and processes will be critical to help us get there.”

Christine Bethea, an art consultant for the Solarpunk Future event, says incorporating discarded objects into new purposes is an effective way to encourage sustainability and prompt individuals to reconsider what they discard. Bethea points to artists like Jason Sauer, who is painting bikes for the event and raffling them off to visitors. “I think all salvage artists look at their work as a way to keep objects out of landfills by making them approachable and beautiful,” says Bethea. “I’m always amazed at the wonderful things that can be created from ‘one man’s junk.’ I think of it as saving the planet one piece of artwork at a time.”

Solarpunk envisions a sustainable future with art and innovation

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