King’s Culture Climate Collective supports students’ arts, creativity and storytelling as powerful forces for transforming our climate emergency. Created with and for King’s students, the Collective will feature collaborative arts projects alongside vibrant participatory events to enable you to build community, generate new visions and take action for a sustainable future.
The Collective upholds three priorities for students. They are:
To build community — by creating spaces and art that foster hope, agency and reconnections to students’ shared roots of support.
To embrace new values — by increasing students’ awareness of environmental injustices and amplify their voices in the fight for change.
To seed superblooms — by providing students with new knowledge, networks and skills, supporting students’ professional development as emerging social and cultural leaders.
Apply to Become a Groundwater Artist!
King’s Culture Climate Collective supports students’ arts, creativity and storytelling as powerful forces for transforming our climate emergency.
As part of its launch, we are excited to invite student applications for our first ever set of Groundwater Artists.
What is Groundwater?
For students wanting to deepen their climate action, the Groundwater Projects bring you into a team with cutting-edge professional artists to dream up and deliver cultural experiences that highlight climate issues and inspire change.
Each Groundwater Project is unique to the vision of the students and guest artists leading it: whether that be zinemaking, short films, digital campaigns, campus arts installations or pop-up street performances. The Projects will be publicly shared in a Spring showcase in King's College London spaces on the Strand.
Why should I participate?
Becoming a Groundwater Artist offers you a unique pathway to a variety of personal, artistic and professional opportunities including:
- Collectively creating and showcasing new artwork for public audiences in Strand spaces supported by King’s Culture
- Access to and collaboration with leading climate-focused artists, honing your creative and production skills
- Qualifying for a King's Experience Award with a special mention on your final academic HEAR transcript
- Payment for participation as a student producer at the public showcase
- Access to and use of King’s Culture’s Somerset House Inigo Rooms as a making and ideas studio
- Critical personal and professional skills development in: project ideation and development, group communication and facilitation, collective decision making and public programming
- The opportunity to connect and collaborate with like-minded passionate students, and to have fun while doing so!
Who is it for?
All King’s students are eligible to apply to become a Groundwater Artist, whatever your degree and level of study. No previous arts experience is necessary - we are simply looking to work with students who are passionate about climate action and open to creatively collaborating with a community of like-minded team members.
How does it work?
If selected as a Groundwater Artist, you will be required to participate in the following group activities* to support the development of your project:
- 1 Introductory Online Session with King’s Culture (January 2023)
- 3 In-person Artist-Led Workshops to design your group project (26 January, 16 February, 9 March 2023) – all dates from 5-8pm on Strand Campus
- 1 Intensive Maker Weekend to build your group project (18 and 19 March 2023, from 10-4pm on Strand Campus)
- 1 Public Showcase (Late March, date TBC)
*All dates are provisional.
How to apply?
Excited about using the arts to advance climate action? We want to hear from you!
Apply now, as there are limited places.
Use this form to submit an application by 7 December. We will notify applicants of our decisions in mid-December. Once you’ve submitted an application, we may contact you for a chat.
Participation in a Groundwater Project counts towards the King’s Experience Champion for Change award. Sign up to the King’s Cultural Community student newsletter to stay alert to future Groundwater opportunities!
Attend a Weathervane Gathering
Weathervanes bring together dozens of King’s students - ranging from the passionate to the simply curious - for empowering events that blend collective artmaking, ideas exchange and sustainable feasts. You will set the agenda, sharing your wellbeing practices and creative strategies for climate activism.
Who We Are
The Collective brings together students of all backgrounds under the guidance and support of a combined staff team drawn from King's Culture, Sustainability, and the Climate Action Network.