In a world grappling with the climate crisis and shrinking possibilities, the And Yet We Imagine exhibition dares to ask: what futures can we seed when we dream collectively? Through letters, art, and shared reflection, this project reclaims imagination as a radical, necessary tool for change.
In a letter to the future, author and environmental activist, Bridget Pitt writes: “It is hard to know what comes next. I have always been motivated by glorious visions, but I wonder if that is what is asked of us. [Philosopher, poet and academic] Bayo Akomalafe says we cannot get there from here. Perhaps what is needed for humans to continue living in this world in any bountiful, generous, healing way can not yet be envisioned, and by trying to create a vision bound by what we know we are limiting it…”
Bridget’s letter to the future is one of many forming part of our collective exhibition, And Yet We Imagine, the culmination of a partnership between our arts project Climate Lounge and the international storytelling archive project DearTomorrow. The partnership was a collaborative process which included a six-month journey of knowledge building, letter writing, art making and co-creating.
I hope by 2050, the seeds we’re sowing have grown into forests of change
Bridget writes: “I cannot predict the world in 2050, but I believe we can sow seeds for a different future, we can identify and compost the ideas no longer serving us.” In another letter to the future, Zambian activist Serah Sebatian echoes the metaphor of planting seeds for the future: “I hope by 2050, the seeds we’re sowing have grown into forests of change.”
For us to sow new seeds and compost outdated ideas, there must be an unlocking of our collective imaginations. We are in a climate crisis, but we are also in a crisis of imagination. As individuals and as a society, we are locked into a paradigm, unable to imagine the multiplicity of transitional possibilities, restrained by fear and panic, by individualism, by the pains of attempting to survive daily injustices, or by our inability to disrupt the status quo and let go of privilege. But if you think that our present paradigm was previously imagined then why can’t we imagine our futures?
The And yet we imagine exhibition invites us to imagine a better future is on until 17 May at Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation in Cape Town. Photo The Dollie House
In her 2021 St Louis Racial Equity Summit Keynote speech, author and organiser, adrienne maree brown said: “We live in a world which others imagined. Most of the constructs that oppress us feel like fact, are taught to us as fact – but they are actually evidence of historical imagination.” And so, our imaginations can play a crucial role in collaboratively building a future beyond the limitations that can seem insurmountable. She continues: “We haven’t seen a world free of these hellish beliefs and behaviours…and yet we imagine.”
The initial idea for a future imagining exhibition came from Sarah’s interaction with adrienne maree brown’s words and work in the environmental movement. The idea remained in a dream state for many years until Sarah found a co-curator in Claire and a partnership in DearTomorrow. With Sarah’s background in music, environmentalism and communications, and Claire’s in visual art, food justice, and visioning work with civil society, we were able to build on each other’s strengths to bring the seed of this imagining to life.
The authors and collaborators Claire Rousell and Sarah Robyn Farrell opened the exhibition on 3 April at the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation in Cape Town. Photo: The Dollie House
We began with a DearTomorrow letter writing workshop at the end of 2024. It had been a tiring and challenging year, and many people who work in environmental justice felt burnt out and experienced despair – including us. So, we brought together a small group of environmental justice workers at the peaceful Soil for Life gardens in Cape Town. Our intention was to create a space for unwinding and remembering why we do this work. It became a space to reconnect with each other and our pathways into this work, to write letters to someone in the future and reimagine the landscape of our work as a web of commitment, possibility and relationships.
We simultaneously opened a call for artists to respond to social and environmental issues, and to imagine a more just and sustainable future. The successful artists were invited to meet each other, share what inspires their art-making for social and environmental change, build knowledge around climate justice, and collectively envision the exhibition. The artists engaged with some of the DearTomorrow letters to the future that had been written the previous day as a way of connecting to these visions.
Guests engage with the art at the opening of the exhibition. Photo: The Dollie House
Then, we – curators and artists – collectively worked towards the exhibition opening on 3 April 2025, each bringing our part to the whole.
In our collective space at the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, Hugo Kanyingu Kabeya, a Congolese artist based in Cape Town, examines the intersections of memory, identity, and socio-political landscapes. Lilitha Buti, a multimedia storyteller from Cape Town, speaks on human-nature relationships and the wisdom of the more-than-human world. Eco-poet Tayla Paige from Benoni reminds us of Earth’s worth beyond profits. Poet, actor, and writer Anele Kose dispels the myth that climate change is only a result of angered gods or ancestors. Shameelah Khan, a multidisciplinary artist with masters degrees in film and gender, and religion, explores themes of climate change, culture, and fragility. Ethnobotanist and artist Ancia Cornelius celebrates the resilience of ecosystems through her delicate observations of nature. Writer, poet, and activist Imān Zanele Omar brings a passion for social justice and community storytelling. The Turning Into Flowers Project bridges art and science to explore botanical heritage through photography, film, and performance. Artist Janet Ranson who works with children from the rural settlement of Wolvengat, reflects on climate justice and the rhythms of nature. Khwela Community Based Organisation and the youth of Luhlaza High School use poetry, movement, and music to engage with the realities of climate change through theatre. And finally, our artworks – in the form of audio-visual and sculpture – form part of the collective, too.
We can take heart in the fact that we are not in this alone
We chose a collective process because on one level, imagination is an individual pursuit but alone we remain limited by our positionality and experience. Collectively we can imagine more and have more impact. As we collaborate with others who are deeply invested in worlds beyond “hellish beliefs and behaviours”, we can take heart in the fact that we are not in this alone.
As justice worker Thoko Madonko writes in her letter, “I belong to a web of people who are trying to fight for a better tomorrow…I want you to know you are never alone”.
- Visit the exhibition at Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation until Saturday
317 May 2025. Members of the public are invited to contribute their message to the future. The Foundation is open Tuesday-Saturday from 09:30-15:30 - Climate Lounge is an arts project for restorative socio-environmental justice. We believe in using creativity and various art forms to bring awareness, healing and hope around climate/socio-environmental challenges and solutions. Our pop-up lounges take the form of healing lounges, learning & solidarity lounges and performance lounges. Follow Climate Lounge on Instagram
- DearTomorrow inspires people to imagine the future and their place within it, and to share their vision in a personal letter to the next generation. By collecting and connecting these visions, we create strong communities that are actively driving climate solutions. Our partnerships with museums, schools, organizations, and institutions empower communities to become active participants in this era of climate transformation. Follow DearTomorrow on Instagram
- All images by The Dollie House
