Re-Imagining Climate (Im)mobilities through the Arts. Representation, Visual Aesthetics and Alternative Narratives

Journal title SOCIOLOGIA DELLA COMUNICAZIONE
Author/s Elena Giacomelli, Melissa Moralli
Publishing Year 2026 Issue 2026/71
Language English Pages 19 P. 145-163 File size 149 KB
DOI 10.3280/SC2026-071008
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This paper explores how visual aesthetics and artistic practices shape narratives of climate change and migration. As climate impacts intensify, human mobility linked to environmental change has become increasingly prominent in public and political debates, often framed through narratives of threat that obscure structural inequalities and vulnerabilities. Such representations can fuel anxiety and legitimize exclusionary and securitarian responses, particularly in the Global North. Combining a narrative literature review with a desk analysis of artistic initiatives, the paper examines how artistic practices both reproduce and challenge dominant imaginaries, opening alternative and more politically aware understandings of climate (im)mobilities.

Keywords: climate change, narratives, (im)mobilities, arts, visual aesthetics.

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Elena Giacomelli, Melissa Moralli, Re-imagining climate (im)mobilities through the arts: representation, visual aesthetics and alternative narratives in "SOCIOLOGIA DELLA COMUNICAZIONE " 71/2026, pp 145-163, DOI: 10.3280/SC2026-071008