Art as activism with Brenna Quinlan
Image courtesy of Mara Ripani
If you’ve spent any time in the permaculture and climate activism spaces online over the past few years, you’ve no doubt come across the work of Brenna Quinlan. I’ve long admired her ability to take complex, overwhelming topics (think decolonising permaculture, doughnut economics, privilege and regenerative disobedience) and present them in a simple, accessible and - most importantly - positive way.
I’m so thrilled to share this conversation today, because it’s landing at exactly the right time. I know I’m feeling overwhelmed (again) by the state of the world - war, climate-change disasters, pandemic, politics - and Brenna has a way of reframing things so that we can focus on positive solutions rather than negative doom-scrolling.
In our chat, Brenna shares where her interest in permaculture began, and what the three guiding principles of ‘earth care, people care, fair share’ mean to her. She also talks about how she’s able to find clarity through her work and her superhuman, virtually impermeable cape of positivity! We talk about the distinction between creativity as work versus creativity as play and why she believes art and education are two of the most powerful forms of activism.
We also talk about:
The bike trip across the Americas that began her relationship with permaculture and activism
Using art as a way of teaching kids about positive climate solutions
What an ‘intentional community’ is and what it’s like to live in one
Living in a converted firetruck and building a strawbale house
The importance of gentle activism and what to do when it gets too heavy
Such a timely conversation for me, and I hope it is for you too. Wherever you are, I hope you’re doing okay.
Head over to iTunes to subscribe to the show and play the episode, or take a listen right here by pressing play on the player below.
Things to check out after today’s episode:
Connect with Brenna on IG: @brenna_quinlan
Check out our intro musicians - Shred Kelly
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