‘Turning the Tide’
Gdańsk, Poland (2024)
‘Turning the Tide (TTT) is a transformative European cooperation project, co-funded by Creative Europe, dedicated to exploring and addressing the pressing issue of climate change through the lens of artistic and cultural practices...
We envision a world where artistic expression and cultural engagement are central to understanding and tackling environmental challenges. Our project aims to empower local communities, amplify diverse voices, and foster innovative solutions to the problems posed by climate change, with a focus on waterfront communities uniquely affected by these global issues.’
During 2024 Robyn Woolston represented Scotland on behalf of Fablevision as their ‘Turning the Tide’ Artist in Residence.
Fablevision is based in Glasgow and has a remit to support the development of cultural planning in Scotland and beyond > www.fablevision.uk
TTT Project Partners: Intercult (Sweden), Instytut Kultury Miejskiej (Poland), Artit, Wiener Bildungsakademie (Austria) & Dear Hunter.
Output:
‘EDGELAND’ is an eco-poetic exploration of rising sea levels and urbanised coastal environments. Rhythmic and relational in its construction, the durational film offers an embedded portrait of an urban edgeland - situated within a site still profoundly shaped by the legacy of the European democratic movement.
The work draws upon migratory histories, carried on tidal Baltic Seas, using them as a narrative framework grounded in the socio-political infrastructure of Solidarność (Solidarity) and the enduring symbolic presence of Lech Wałęsa. These roots are understood not merely as historical artefacts, but as enduring forces - still potent in their capacity to inspire collective democratic action amid escalating global crises.
Geographically, the project unfolds within the tri-city region of Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot, an area increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Here, as noted by Scott Kulp (quoted in Ludwika Tomala’s “Poland’s beaches are threatened by global warming”), rising waters pose the imminent risk of transforming cities, economies, coastlines and entire global regions, within our lifetimes.
The film represents the culmination of a month-long residency in Poland as part of the 'TTT' collaborative partnership. Structured as a multi-linear narrative, it simultaneously communicates climate-related knowledge specific to the Gdańsk delta - highlighting the region’s ecological precarity through recurrent flooding, extreme rainfall events, and the looming threat of groundwater salinisation. This is particularly critical in locations such as Reagan Park, which supplies approximately 30% of the municipal water for Gdańsk and remains highly susceptible to storm surges.
The project is further informed by dialogue with academic researchers, including Dr. Tomasz Besta, Associate Professor at the University of Gdańsk’s Institute of Psychology. His research into intergroup dynamics, collective action and social cohesion offers a conceptual framework that intersects with the work’s broader thematic concerns: the interplay between ecological vulnerability, historical memory, and the potential for collective resilience.
Woolston elected to contribute to a carbon avoidance scheme, operated by Ecologi > ‘The UK’s most trusted climate action platform’ https://ecologi.com , as a way in which to calibrate the emissions she produced during her residency in Poland. Her contribution supported the prevention of 3 tCO2e from being emitted through a verified carbon avoidance project in Morocco: The Ouarzazate Solar Power Station is one of the largest concentrated solar projects in the world, making use of thousands of concave mirrors to concentrate solar energy and produce 750 GWh of power per year.
Why avoidance?
‘While the biggest impact you can make is to reduce your own emissions, carbon avoidance projects all provide complementary climate solutions to prevent greenhouse gas emissions, restore nature, and support local communities. Supporting these projects allows you to compensate for your remaining, unavoidable emissions.
Ecologi only supports projects certified by either the Gold Standard or Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS). Additional certifications for VCS certified projects indicate their contribution to sustainable development and the co-benefits they offer to local people and nature, such as the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standard (CCBS) and the Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta).
We also use third-party platforms, including carbon intelligence platform Sylvera, to ensure the projects our community supports are of the highest standard.’ > Ecologi