What is CRAG?

Climate, Reading, Art Group (or CRAG) began as an informal group set up between The Critical Fish, Lockdown Still Lives and Carbon-Borders-Voices, where all those who are interested were invited to meet, read and discuss essays, articles, films and artworks related to climate crisis and art – and to share our understanding with one another.

Since then it has grown as an unfunded Critical Fish project, and has become a great opportunity to come together to discuss both art and climate issues – everyone is welcome!

Upcoming Meetings

XIII: 21 May 2025, 6 – 8pm

In Focus:

As part of the programming for the @feral.rewilders exhibition ‘Unfolded’ at Brynmor Jones Gallery, we will be exploring the short story ‘Lore’, written by one of the exhibiting artists – and Fish team member – Lauren Saunders. Meet at the University of Hull Brynmor Jones Gallery!

Previous Meetings

XII: April 2025, 5.30 – 7.30pm

In Focus:

We’re back after a long break! The text to read in advance is Indigenous Ecological Knowledge As Social Capital: How Citizen Science Can Help Replenish the Bank, and we’re meeting at Ground!

XI: Fri 23 February 2024, 6.30 – 8.30pm

In Focus:

In this CRAG meeting, we watched and discussed ‘Nature Matters’ – a short film produced by the Yorkshire and North East Film Archives at 87 Gallery, Hull.

X: Thu 26 October 2023, 6:00 – 8:00pm

IX: Thu 21 September 2023, 6:00 – 8:00pm

These sessions used texts selected by Matt Fratson in relation to his exhibition The Stacks 2. Intermittence.  This included:-

1. Excerpts from After Nature by W.G. Sebald

2. From The Stacks: Letter from the editors of The Ecologist, stamped received by the Chief Librarian, and editorial from the first issue, July 1970

Read a shortened version of the selected text here.  Or read the longer version here.

VIII: Wed 23 August 2023, 6:30 – 8:30pm

This session took place against the backdrop of ‘seeds of change‘, a solo exhibition by Lauren Saunders.  This time around we asked participants to bring something with them to share that is climate and art related.  See some of the things shared on the night in the photos below.

VII: Thu 23 February 2023, 6:30 – 8:30pm

Against the backdrop of Oliver Ressler’s Climate Feedback Loops at Humber Street Gallery, we looked at A Weight of Ice Carried from the North for You by Neville Gabie. Information and photos of this project and a 15-minute film/blog can be found on Gabie’s website.  We also read and considered Robert MacFarlane’s essay ‘Turning Point’.

VI: Mon 21 November 2022, 7 – 9pm

In this session we looked at 3 short essays by Gary Snyder, taken from the collection, The Practice of the Wild – published in 1990.

These excerpts were selected by This Place Project.  They have asked artists to respond to a period of events across summer and autumn 2022 – and these works have been on display at HARI in December 2022.

V: Tues 20 September 2022, 7 – 9pm

In this session we considered Lisa Jevbratt’s ‘Interspecies Field Guide’, an instructional leaflet outlining how to better work with the other-than-human. The guide can be downloaded (pdf) here: http://jevbratt.com/writing/interspecies_field_guide.pdf.

This CRAG discussion took place against the backdrop of ‘The Land Empathy Development Lab’, a HARI residency project by local environmental artist Lauren Saunders, alongside the work of other artists and activities taking place in the space.

IV: Thurs 10 August 2022, 7 – 9pm

We considered JC Niala’s podcast ‘The Garden’ which is part of a series exploring what plants can teach us about being human. CRAG was held gainst a backdrop of ‘The Land Empathy Development Lab’, a HARI residency project by local environmental artist Lauren Saunders, alongside the work of other artists and activities taking place in the space.

We asked that participants listened to this podcast in preperation for discussion in the group.

III: Tues 10 May 2022, 7 – 9pm

Led by writer Michelle Dee, this month we discussed some poems about ‘The Overview Effect’.

We asked that participants read this text in preperation for discussion in the group.

 

II: Tues 5 April 2022, 7 – 9pm

In this session, led by visual artist Lauren Saunders, we discussed a text by Kenneth White that introduces Geopoetics.

We asked that participants read this text preperation for discussion in the group.

 

I: Weds 2 March 2022, 7.30-9.30pm

We watched a screening of ACKROYD & HARVEY: WHEN IS A TREE A WORK OF ART, A FOREST, A SOCIAL MOVEMENT?

This is a recording from the Royal Drawing School series of ‘Creative Conversations’. The screening features the work of Ackroyd and Harvey who produced The Grass House in Hull (1990) and Joseph Beuys ‘7000 Oaks’ (1982) and A+H’s continuation of Beuy’s project – so lots of fascinating anniversaries and local connections! Ackroyd and Harvey established Culture Declares Emergency.

The film addresses the question – what can art do?

Below image credit:- ‘The Grass House’ with thanks to Harrison Cotty