On January 20, TerraFuture opened the doors to our inaugural Youth Climate Art Exhibition at the Alberta Abbey gallery space, showcasing 78 works by 62 students from 14 Portland-area high schools. The exhibition, which runs through February 15, represents the culmination of a 12-week program in which students worked with climate scientists and professional artists to translate environmental data into visual and multimedia art.
The results exceeded every expectation we had for this program.
Data Made Visible
The premise was simple but ambitious: give young people access to real climate data and the tools to make that data felt rather than just understood. Each student received a dataset from TerraFuture's research archives, ranging from urban heat island measurements to air quality sensor readings to biodiversity surveys, and worked with artist mentors to develop a piece that communicated the story within the numbers.
One standout piece, created by a junior from Jefferson High School, translated 10 years of Willamette River temperature data into a woven textile where thread colors shifted from cool blues to warm oranges across the length of the fabric. The piece viscerally communicates a 2.3-degree Fahrenheit increase in average summer water temperature that, expressed as a number alone, might fail to register.
Another student used Portland Bureau of Transportation data to create a scale model of a city block that physically tilts based on the ratio of car infrastructure to green space, making the imbalance of urban land use immediately tangible. The model represents an actual block in the Jade District where 71 percent of surface area is dedicated to vehicles and only 4 percent to trees and plantings.
Beyond Traditional Outreach
We launched this program because our research showed that traditional climate communication is failing to engage young people on an emotional level. A 2023 survey by the Oregon Environmental Council found that while 84 percent of Oregon high school students expressed concern about climate change, only 23 percent could describe specific local climate impacts, and only 11 percent had engaged in any form of climate action.
Art bridges that gap between abstract awareness and embodied understanding. Our post-program surveys of participating students showed a 47 percent increase in self-reported understanding of local climate impacts and a 38 percent increase in stated intention to participate in climate action. Perhaps more significantly, 91 percent of participants said the program changed how they think about the relationship between data and storytelling.
Numbers tell us what is happening. Art tells us what it means. When young people make climate data into something you can see and feel, it becomes impossible to look away.
Community Response
The exhibition attracted 1,840 visitors in its first week, more than triple the gallery's typical attendance. Local media coverage reached an estimated audience of 180,000 through print, broadcast, and digital outlets. Three pieces have been selected for display in Portland City Hall through a partnership with the Regional Arts and Culture Council.
More importantly, the exhibition has generated 14 requests from schools not in our current network to participate in next year's program, and two other nonprofits in Seattle and Eugene have contacted us about replicating the model.
Scaling the Program
Based on the success of this pilot, TerraFuture is expanding the Youth Climate Art program to serve 150 students across 25 schools in the 2024-2025 academic year. We are developing a curriculum guide, created in collaboration with participating artists and educators, that will be available as an open educational resource for any organization or school to adapt.
The total program cost for the pilot was 42,000 dollars, or approximately 677 dollars per student, covering artist mentor stipends, materials, gallery rental, and program coordination. We believe this represents exceptional value for a program that simultaneously builds data literacy, creative skills, and climate engagement.
Art does not replace policy or science. But it reaches people in ways that charts and reports cannot. These 62 students have shown us what climate communication can look like when we trust young people to lead.
