A multiyear climate crisis performance project developed at ASU has been invited to the UNESCO Most Climate Summit, "Building Bridges from Meaning to Policy Formulation and Impact: Mobilizing Humanities Expertise in a Rapidly Changing World," to be held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris in September 2026.
The invitation marks an international milestone for Anthropocene, an award-winning devised theatre production created by Rachel Bowditch and Karen Jean Martinson in collaboration with more than 100 students, faculty, staff, and alumni, and designers from ASU's School of Music, Dance and Theatre in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.
The project was competitively selected by UNESCO Bridges as an exemplar of how the arts and humanities can help communicate the urgency of the climate crisis to policymakers and the public.
“This project asks how we transform climate grief into climate action,” said Bowditch and Martinson. “We are honored to bring this work to a global audience of climate leaders, advocates, and policymakers.”
Bowditch, Professor of Theatre and Senior Global Futures Scholar in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, and Martinson, Associate Professor of Theatre and Senior Global Futures Scholar, have spent seven years developing Anthropocene through a series of devising research labs, a mainstage ASU Theatre production, and a remounted 360-degree immersive production at the ASU MIX Center.
The project combines movement, text, media, sound, and immersive design to examine the escalation of consumption and the accelerating climate crisis. Across 18 fast-paced episodes, audiences travel through historical moments ranging from the Silk Road and the Industrial Revolution to present-day fast fashion, online shopping, plastic pollution, extreme heat, and ecological collapse.
As the performance unfolds, the stage fills with the physical remnants of modern consumption — Amazon boxes, plastic bags, packaging, and waste — creating what the artists describe as “a powerful portrait of our world out of balance.”
The production draws from the concept of the Anthropocene, the proposed geological era defined by humanity’s profound impact on Earth’s systems. Through theatre and visual storytelling, the project asks audiences to confront difficult questions about climate futures, responsibility, consumption, and collective action.
“When I started working on Anthropocene in 2019, 2030 felt far away,” Bowditch reflected. “Now we are only a few years from the emissions targets outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement, while simultaneously witnessing increasingly visible signs of ecological disruption.”
The work has evolved alongside growing global concern over climate tipping points, ecosystem failure, and rising temperatures. Bowditch notes that hope remains central to the project’s message, citing climate writer Rebecca Solnit’s argument that “hope is a discipline.”
Rather than offering easy answers, Anthropocene aims to create space for reflection, urgency, and engagement. The project aligns closely with emerging conversations about the role of the humanities and arts in shaping climate communication and public understanding.
The UNESCO summit invitation also represents a significant opportunity for student artists and collaborators. The team is currently working with the ASU Foundation to raise funds to support travel, lodging, and participation costs for 22 ASU students, alumni, faculty, and staff who will present the project internationally.
“This is an opportunity for our students to contribute to global conversations about climate change through creative practice,” said Bowditch and Martinson. “The arts help people feel the stakes of the climate crisis in ways that data alone often cannot.”
The production’s immersive staging and multimedia design were developed in collaboration with designers Jake Pinholster, Doster Chastain, Dan Perelstein Jaquette, and Ethan Steimel, blending archival footage, projection, sound, and original media to create a visually saturated environment that mirrors the escalating pace of consumption and environmental change.
In addition to the live productions, the project has generated scholarly and creative publications, including “Devising Anthropocene: A Conversation About a Multiyear Climate Crisis Project” and “MAY WE HAVE your ATTENTION PL EASE? CLIMATE CHANGE IS URGENT AND CHANGE NEEDS TO HAPPEN NOW,” published in Ecumenica: Performance and Religion and Leonardo.
As Anthropocene prepares for Paris, the project stands as an example of how universities can bridge research, creative practice, and public engagement around one of the defining challenges of the century.