A Planetary Arts Movement: X-Art
Contact Jo Nurse, Chair, Planetary Arts Committee: arts@worldacademy.org
Our mission is to harness the transformative power of artistic expression to awaken understanding of the threats facing life on Earth and to spark imaginative, collaborative solutions that lead to a flourishing planet for all. We unite artists across disciplines and continents with a shared purpose — to turn existential challenges into creative opportunities, strengthen human security, and inspire a thriving, peaceful future where art becomes both the messenger and the catalyst for planetary renewal.
This global art initiative revives the original vision of the World Academy of Art and Science, founded in 1960 by luminaries such as Einstein, Oppenheimer, and artist Henry Moore. Early efforts to create a world art centre — backed by Peggy Guggenheim, Max Ernst, Salvador Dali, and architect and WAAS Fellow Buckminster Fuller — reflects this same spirit. Today, WAAS continues as an interdisciplinary forum promoting free thought, human security, universal rights, and innovative solutions for humanity’s common good.
This new art movement aims to act as a tool for global transformation: it is youth driven, innovative and solution focused, promotes partnerships, and enables artistic communities to act as a catalyst for positive change, by creating a shared vision together that enhances human security, a culture of peace with a flourishing planet for all. Our turbulent times, calls us to question the very nature of what it is to be alive as Humans, with the threat of potentially no longer existing triggering inspired perspectives on the purpose of our life and ultimately the future of Humanity. Turning these thoughts into action, can mobilise collaborative and innovative solutions, to actively create the World that We Want – in order to survive and thrive.
The following values, concepts and guiding principles are intended to act as a universal framework to co-create a Flourishing Planet for All.
Art is the ability to create, based on intuition and capacity to transform materials and knowledge, through inspiration, vision and original thinking. X-ART bridges traditions and innovations, indigenous wisdom and advanced technologies, thus creating a global field of collaboration that honours diversity while cultivating unity in purpose.
Art is a method of knowing, perceiving, and transforming reality, and artistic creativity plays a vital role in shaping ethical awareness and collective intelligence. X-ART supports moral imagination and global empathy through education, collaboration, and participatory artistic practices.
As artists and creatives, we act as translators of complexity and emotion, to reveal the human dimension of planetary change. By creating and sharing visions of harmony, justice, and regeneration, we awaken the collective imagination needed to build a culture of peace and a flourishing planet for all. Through imagination, intuition, and emotional truth, we aim to reveal what data alone cannot — the invisible threads that connect humanity, nature, and spirit. In a fragmented world, the artist’s eye restores wholeness by transforming knowledge into meaning, and empathy into action.
We call upon all artists, scientists, creatives and visionaries, worldwide to co-create this new cultural field. With Art as the language of meaning, and science as the language of method, together they can nurture the planetary consciousness essential for sustainable development and peace. As creativity becomes consciousness, art becomes the catalyst for the next step in human evolution.
As artists and scientists around the world, we act as catalysts for positive change, by creating a shared vision together — for a culture of peace with a flourishing planet for all.
To ensure our collective survival, we need to understand the root causes of our global challenges, the role that human security plays as a foundation for resilience and sustainable development, and to envision and create a flourishing future world together. In these critical times, we need to apply strategic foresight to design effective plans that are evidence informed. Combining the arts with the sciences, can bring narratives to life, communicate complexity, motivate meaning, and enhance diverse trans and multi-disciplinary perspectives on the world, that inspires innovative and creative solutions.
Buckminster Fuller, Architect
Henry Moore, Sculptor
Arthur C. Clarke, Author
“We are called to be the architects of the future, not its victims — Buckminster Fuller, WAAS Fellow.”
“Cultural Code of Evolution: Spirituality, Creativity, Morality, Ethics”
By Natalia Rojcovscaia-Tumaha
(Soon to be published in CADMUS)
Featured Fellow: Serena Scapagnini
All aspects of the Arts are applied to aid understanding of root causes of our global challenges, whilst enabling strategic solutions – this initiative is initially guided by Strategy X-EXIST with creative activities inspired by a series of living Plans for Peace, the Planet, People, Sustainable Prosperity and Planetary Leaders. The below clusters also act to strengthen resilience, human security and to enable the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals. The Arts provide a form to communicate and explore themes in-depth and/ or as part of a trans-disciplinary perspective to act as a catalyst for positive transformation on our collective human journey. The following areas provide a guide for the scope of artistic and creative expression:
Threats range from mass-extinctions from asteroids, massive volcanic eruptions and biodiversity collapse to threats from our climate emergency; to illustrating the regeneration and recovery of environments including air, water and earth, with the co-creation of diverse, vibrant ecosystems and a healthy planet for all of life.
Ranging from inequalities, food and water insecurity that act as drivers for migration and conflict, with the risk of pandemics and disease threatening human existence. Prompting us to question the depths of meaning and the complexity of the diverse forms of humanity, whilst helping us to envision and create communities, to bring forth a future for humankind.
Aiding understanding of the root causes and emotional responses of violence, conflicts and wars, including the risks from nuclear, chemical, biological and technological warfare; communicating our common human journey in finding pathways to peace to the creation of communities for a culture of peace.
Questioning the lack of sustainability of our current mechanical-technical-industrial world, with unhealthy crowded cities and widening inequalities that act as drivers for pandemics, wars and our planetary emergencies. Transforming to nature-based solutions that places well-being at the heart of what we do.
