Conversations on Creative Climate Leadership: Launch Events

This March sees the release of ‘Conversations On Creative Climate Leadership’ – the second season of Julie’s Bicycle podcast series exploring what type of leadership is needed to creatively bring about the transformative change that we need. To help us celebrate the launch, we’re hosting two online conversations with some of the inspiring and committed creative climate leaders and activists in JB’s community to speak about their work and explore what it means to take action with impact, creativity, and resilience. And because we never want to miss an opportunity to make new connections, we’re also bringing in the Cultura Circular community to celebrate the upcoming release of the Cultura Circular interview series later this year.

25 March 2025: Conversations on Creative Climate Leadership Launch Event # 1

17:00 – 18:00 GMT / 13:00-14:00 EDT / 18:00 – 19:00 CET

Register here

Speakers:

• Donna Grantis, artist and musician (CCL Canada 2022)
• Michael Soro, Native Events (CCL Wales 2017)
• Juan Ernesto Murua Palacio, Córdoba Music Biennial Argentina (Cultura Circular)

Chaired by Chiara Badiali, Music Lead, Julie’s Bicycle

26 March 2026: Conversations on Creative Climate Leadership Launch Event # 2

08:00 – 09:00 GMT / 09:00 – 10:00 CET / 19:00 – 20:00 AEDT

Register here

Speakers:

• Yves Regenass, theatre maker (CCL Switzerland 2024)
• Bryony Anderson, designer, maker and creative director (CCL Australia 2024)
• Fairooz Tamimi, writer and cultural strategist (CCL Sweden 2021)

Chaired by Zamzam Ibrahim, climate justice activist and Creative Climate Leadership Project Manager

Event times are based on trying to accommodate different timezones. Events will be live captioned.

About our Speakers:

Donna Grantis is an acclaimed Canadian artist and musician. She performed and recorded with music icon Prince as the co-lead electric guitarist in his funk-rock trio 3RDEYEGIRL and supergroup New Power Generation, and has shared the stage with artists including Stevie Wonder, Pearl Jam, Kendrick Lamar, and Dave Grohl. Her current creative project exists at the intersection of art and activism, blending music with the words & messages of environmental leaders and the sounds of nature itself. In collaboration with EarthPercent, she participated in the groundbreaking “Earth As Your Co-Writer” initiative in 2023, and more recently participated in the launch of Sounds Right at the United Nations in 2024, a game changing global initiative to establish NATURE as an official artist on streaming platforms.

Michael Soro is an example of leadership in the neurodiversity space. Having come from a challenging upbringing and having failed at University, he went on to weaponise his dyslexia and to embrace self taught auto-didactic learning. With a background in horticulture, permaculture, and systems-thinking research, he has developed a unique perspective on the world. Michael is the founder of and creative lead for Native Events, Ireland’s leading sustainable event production company. Over the years, Native Events has grown and now comprises a dynamic team of smart, hard-working and driven individuals working towards environmental sustainability and circular principles in Ireland’s creative industries. As the environmental movement gathers pace, the organisation works with an expanding community of partners in the sector including events, festivals and cultural organisations but also with the wider network of industry suppliers, ensuring a systems-wide transition to sustainability and regeneration.

Juan Ernesto Murua Palacio, based in Catamarca, Argentina is:
Architectural and Scenic Designer – Technical Art Director of Córdoba Music Biennial.
Regional Technical Operator for local and international productions and tours.
Founding member of the collectives Cotidiano and Galera: architecture and public space.
Currently, I focus on exploring and materializing experiences that connect artistic and cultural variables with people and public spaces from a sustainable perspective, working alongside private and state entities in the provinces of Córdoba and Buenos Aires while coordinating international programs.

Yves Regenass is a freelance theater maker specializing in dramaturgy, direction, and performance, as well as a curator. He is a co-founder of the game theater group machina eX and has collaborated regularly with the Ticino-based collective Trickster-P. An expert in game design for theater and digital dramaturgy, he focuses on integrating new technologies into live arts. Yves is a researcher at metaLAB@Basel, an idea foundry and knowledge-design lab. He has served as artistic director for the Digi Days Festival in Chur (CH) and NEXT LEVEL in Dortmund (D). In addition, he lectures at various universities in Switzerland and internationally.

Bryony Anderson is a first-generation Australian designer, maker, and creative director with a lifelong focus on resource stewardship. She runs an independent practice as Axlebone and works closely with Terrapin Puppet Theatre on their transition to sustainable practice, and to creating work that answers need in the island community of Tasmania. She has been working in puppetry and performance since 1997 with many Australian companies, touring nationally and internationally, with award-winning work appearing in galleries, festivals, theatres, museums, schools and street corners. Her deepening practice in community engagement has been shaped by collaborative projects in rural, desert, coastal and urban communities. Bryony continues to mentor emerging artists and to seek new avenues for applying creativity and imagination to wicked problems.

Fairooz Tamimi is a published author and award winning writer dedicated to social justice and cultural transformation. She is a sustainability expert with over two decades of experience who has served in strategic leadership and executive roles in NGOs, private and public sector organisations in Europe and the Middle East. She has worked on sustainable development at Trans Europe Halles and across cultural policy in Sweden and internationally. Founder of the Immigrants Stand up Comedy Network, The International Artists and Cultural Creators Network in Sweden & The Arabic Writers Network in Sweden.’ Winner of Herbert Felix Institute Award for Openness & Diversity 2016. She is a global expert with ISO on developing a new standard to help organisations contribute to SDGs, and a member of the global ISO committees on Diversity and Gender.

About the Conversations on Creative Climate Leadership Podcast:

Conversations on Creative Climate Leadership showcases the spectrum of work and activism from our exceptional Creative Climate Leadership network. Over six episodes we explore themes of Play, Integrity, Repair, Care, Exploration and Courage exercised on a global scale with hosts musician and zoologist Louis VI and JB’s Climate Justice Lead Farah Ahmed.

Podcast guests include: Theatre-maker Toby Peach, director and theatre-maker Ntando Cele, producer and artist Eliki Reade, cultural leader Julie Forchhammer, designer Gaja Mežnarić Osole, visual artist Allison O’Connor, choreographer Dawit Seto, arts manager Ceyda Berk-Söderblom, researcher Zoe Rasbash, curator Mateo Chacón Pino, climate justice activist Payal Parekh and artist, activist, permaculture teacher Guy Ritani.

Subscribe, listen and download on desktop and mobile on all major podcast platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music from the 20th March 2025. Before then, get a taste of the podcast themes from our previous series which can be found here.

This podcast has evolved from the Creative Climate Leadership network, a growing network of alumni from the Creative Climate Leadership programme (CCL) run by Julie’s Bicycle. This training and transformation programme empowers artists and cultural professionals to take action on the climate, nature and justice crises with impact, creativity, and resilience. Alumni are part of an international network of creatives taking action and mobilising others.

About the Cultura Circular Interview Series:

Cultura Circular (Circular Culture) is an exchange programme for Caribbean and Latin American festivals, delivered by Julie’s Bicycle in partnership with British Council Americas since 2023. The programme brings together festivals across a wide variety of artforms from film to performance to literature for learning, mentoring, and peer exchange on environmental action. The Circular Culture in Conversation series is also due to be released this Spring. It is being produced with the support of British Council Americas and will feature team members from festivals involved in the programme discussing their festivals’ sustainability actions and learnings. Episodes and scripts will be available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.  Sign up to the Julie’s Bicycle newsletter to keep up-to-date!

Thank You:

These launch events are being held thanks to the funders and partners who have supported the work of the Creative Climate Leadership network and the making of this podcast: Pro Helvetia and Stiftung Mercator Schweiz for CCL Switzerland; as well as the European Cultural Foundation’s Culture of Solidarity Fund, and Porticus. And a special thanks to our Creative Climate Leadership podcast host Louis VI, member of EarthPercent – the music industry’s climate foundation, who support JB’s work on climate action with the music community.