Ever wonder what a climate-resilient future might look like? How the communities, wildlife and landscapes might compare to what we see in the Pacific Northwest now?

Local artist Claire Sianna Seaman and the Climate Impacts Group are helping us envision this future with a painting depicting climate resilience in the Pacific Northwest region.

An album of pictures taken by UW Photographer Mark Stone capture the many details and scenes of the painting. To portray the project digitally, staff from the Climate Impacts Group developed a web-based story combining photos of the painting, a written statement from Claire, and audio clips from a showcase of the painting. The project webpage provides more details about the development of the painting and tracks where it is now.

The oil painting is impressive in both its scope and its sheer size. The full artwork consists of three canvas panels, each three feet wide by four feet tall, that integrate many Pacific Northwest scenes into a seamless piece. By layering opaque images over each other, the painting tells a story of different possible futures, while the bright, vivid colors create a hopeful image.

“This painting is just one portrayal of climate resiliency, there is so much more that it could not capture,” Seaman said. “I hope that many more such imaginings of a climate resilient future will begin to surface, inspiring people from all walks of life to work together toward that vision.”

The art piece was developed as part of a celebration of the Climate Impacts Group’s 25th anniversary, and debuted at a small, internal showcase hosted by the Climate Impacts Group, EarthLab and the Population Health Initiative. The painting is displayed on the first floor of the Hans Rosling Center for Population Health on the University of Washington Seattle campus.

Claire Sianna Seaman grew up in Leavenworth on the eastern slope of the Cascade Mountains. She studied studio art with a concentration in climate change at Smith College, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2020. At the showcase, Seaman described how in college she struggled to find how her climate work fit into the art world, and how her art fit into the climate world.

“This project has been really refreshing,” she said. “Working with scientists who really want to figure out how to express different ways of imagining a climate-resilient future in art has been a really incredible experience.”

Following Seaman’s presentation at the showcase, CIG Director Amy Snover thanked Seaman for her work. “You’ve done a phenomenal thing,” she said. “The painting is really beautiful, it’s really complicated and it’s really rich. Every time I talk about climate resilience, it’s hard to pack in the multidimensionality of it… this is really amazing, so thank you for that.”

With each scene, each thriving ecosystem and healthy community, the painting conveys a future that is hopeful – and within our grasp. “The future will bring change,” Seaman said, “but that is not to say it all needs to be for the worse. Instead of being motivated by our anxieties, let us be motivated by what makes us happier and healthier.”