About
Weaving Hopes for the Future
Weaving Hopes for the Future is an art and cultural response to climate degradation and climate injustice. It amplifies the voices and realities of Peninsular Malaysia’s Indigenous People — particularly underrepresented Indigenous youth and women in the climate justice movement
The Weaving Hopes for the Future exhibition will be curated at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26 in the Mitchell Library under the Get Ready Glasgow by Glasgow City council and at the Centre of Contemporary Arts (CCA) Glasgow under the People’s Summit by COP26coalition.
Like many other Indigenous peoples, Orang Asli are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. They are dependent on their land and forests but are continually locked out of meaningful participation in decision-making processes and denied political power.
This exhibition features an art installation alongside short documentaries led and produced by the Indigenous communities of Selangor and Pahang, Malaysia, respectively. Together, both form a complex and rich tapestry of the Orang Asli experience of the climate crisis.
The art installation consists of four mengkuang (pandanus spp.) mats weaved using the traditional technique of kelarai, on top of which are embroidered topographical patterns mirroring the patterns left behind by clear-cut logging. This piece links the loss of traditional lands and forests to the loss of raw materials used for their traditional craft-making, posing a threat to their generations-old art, culture and traditions.
The short documentaries are a 4-part compound work featuring stories of Orang Asli at the frontlines of the climate crisis. Each explores the connection between the climate crisis and Indigenous land rights in Malaysia through the lens of women, healers, elders, and activists who have witnessed how their lands have transformed in the past decade.
Indigenous communities facing climate change
Like many other Indigenous Peoples, Orang Asli are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. They are dependent on their land and forests but are continually locked out of meaningful participation in decision-making processes and denied political power. Climate change only exacerbates these persistent problems, placing Orang Asli peoples at the forefront of the climate crisis.
Art connects the past and the future
In order to communicate the devastating impacts of climate change on the Orang Asli way of life, we have put together an exhibition of traditional artwork and documentaries that centers the Indigenous perspective.
Through these visuals and stories, we want to paint the climate crisis as more than just statistics and climate models. By illustrating the consequences of our inaction in human terms -- in the loss of Orang Asli land, culture and life -- we hope to create a sense of urgency around the climate crisis. To learn more, click through below.
The Indigenous Team
The project was created primarily by Orang Asli youths and women, including four young filmmakers -- Eliana, Diana, Analisa and Norifa -- and interview subjects from Rompin, Pahang; and a group of weavers from Sungai Buloh. To learn more about the team behind the Weaving Hopes for the Future exhibition, click through the buttons below.
A project powered by
KAMY is a climate justice organisation built by women and youth in Malaysia led by feminist principles. We believe that nurturing meaningful partnership, peacebuilding, and strengthening constituencies across civil society organisations and vulnerable groups such as Indigenous communities, women, and youth set a strong foundation for people-led climate action.
Partner
Students for Global Health is an organisation, network and community. In our 20 year history, we have evolved from one passionate individual to a group of thousands of students from all over the United Kingdom, who are all passionate about creating a fair and just world in which equity in health is a reality for all.
Supported by
Fridays For Future is an international, intersectional movement of students striking for climate. Fridays For Future MAPA highlights the Most Affected People and Areas. MAPA includes all territories in the Global South (Africa, Latin America, Pacific Islands, etc.) as well as marginalized communities (BIPOC, women, LGBTQIA + people, etc.) that might live anywhere in the world. Intersectionality is MAPA’s backbone.
Journeys for Climate Justice (JCJ) is a small volunteer-run Australian not-for-profit organisation tackling climate change issues in the Asia-Pacific Region. We aim to address the inequitable impacts of climate change, which fall on communities that have contributed least to the problem and have few resources to cope.
The COP26 Coalition is a UK-based civil society coalition of groups and individuals mobilising around climate justice during COP26. Coalition members include environment and development NGOs, trade unions, grassroots community campaigns, faith groups, youth groups, migrant and racial justice networks – to name a few. They are also the organiser of the People’s Summit.
The British Council builds connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education and the English language. Weaving Hopes is supported by British Council Malaysia’s ARC Challenge Malaysia, an initiative created in the lead-up to COP26. ARC stands for “Awareness, Resilience and Collaboration” in response to climate change.
Stop Climate Chaos Scotland is a diverse coalition of over 60 civil society organisations in Scotland campaigning together on climate change. Their members include environment, faith and belief groups, international development organisations, trade and student unions and community groups.
A collaborative artistic and archiving initiative that co-creates cultural content with Orang Asli artisans and contemporary artists in Malaysia.
You! The public
