School of climate fiction

/ Introducing LAX LAB 2.0, a community, book club, and educational resource dedicated to the stories and worlds of climate fiction

LAX LAB 2.0 is a newly established school of climate fiction: a community, book club, and educational resource dedicated to the stories and worlds of climate fiction. LAX LAB 2.0 | school of climate fiction is the first major project of the Institute for Art & Environment, officially launching in Spring 2024. Founded by Emma Arnold, the Institute for Art & Environment is an independent and interdisciplinary research platform leading creative, hopeful, and innovative projects with environmental, social, and urban themes.

LAX LAB 2.0 is the re-incarnation of LAX LAB, which was a creative laboratory active between 2018 and 2023 and formerly hosted at the University of Oslo in Norway. LAX LAB was an exploratory space for academic and artistic experimentations, including a photographic study of climate activism and various artistic-activist practices.

One of the most successful activities of the original LAX LAB was a climate fiction book club, established during the pandemic as a way to stay connected through the isolation of lockdown while sparking conversations on the climate crisis through literature.

The diverse participants of the original book club spanned three continents and included academics across a range of disciplines as well as architects, activists, artists, environmental scientists, students, teachers, translators, and more. In small groups, we explored classic and contemporary works of fiction, with emphasis on climate fiction, science fiction, and speculative fiction. We took these works as departures to discuss the climate crisis, visions of the future, and the ongoing pandemic.

Together we read and discussed 12 novels from all over the world by a range of authors, from the Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler to Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice. The book club was an experiment in how we might think through prescient issues with art. The book club was featured in an article on climate fiction by Anna Colivicchi for euronews.

LAX LAB 2.0 builds on the success of the original LAX LAB book club and focuses exclusively on the stories and worlds of climate fiction. The project strives to build community and hope through open and inclusive dialogues on climate change through literature. LAX LAB 2.0 is engaged in different public-facing activities, including a climate fiction book club organised through Substack with essays from the project being shared here on Medium. More information on these activities and the workings of the book club will be announced in late Spring 2024. Until then, welcome and stay tuned!