Kolkata Climate Fare: Where Every Art-Installation Tells a Climate Story
Why We Are Doing This
Climate change affects everyone, yet conversations about it often remain limited to classrooms, conferences, and scientific discussions. While people are increasingly aware of rising temperatures, extreme weather, and environmental degradation, many struggle to connect these global challenges with their own lives. Without opportunities to engage personally with the issue, climate awareness often fails to inspire meaningful action.To bridge this gap, we launched our annual Climate Fair in Boral four years ago. Held every year during Basanta(spring, typically in April), the fair transforms ordinary streets into an open-air climate experience where art becomes a medium for awareness and dialogue. Through immersive installations, creative storytelling, and community participation, we encourage people not only to understand climate change but also to reflect on their own role in creating a more sustainable future.
What We Are Doing
Our Climate Fair is a community-led public awareness initiative that combines environmental education, art, and public participation. Organised every year during Basanta (typically in April) in collaboration with artist Samir Rana and his students from Aakriti School of Art, the fair transforms the streets of Boral into an open-air climate exhibition. Each year features a unique climate theme, brought to life through roadside installations made entirely from eco-friendly materials such as clay, natural fibres, flowers, leaves, and natural colours.The installations are designed to encourage people to think, discuss, and connect with climate change. Some artworks are intentionally left unfinished, inviting visitors to contribute and become part of the creative process. By turning spectators into participants, the Climate Fair creates meaningful conversations about climate change and inspires a stronger sense of environmental responsibility within the community.
Where We Are Doing This
The Climate Fair is organised annually in Boral, South Kolkata, where public streets are transformed into a vibrant open-air exhibition celebrating environmental awareness and community participation. By taking the exhibition beyond traditional galleries and fairgrounds, the initiative reaches residents, students, families, commuters, and visitors from across the city.
Every edition presents a new theme inspired by current climate challenges, ensuring that the fair continues to engage audiences with fresh ideas while strengthening community participation in climate action through art and dialogue.
How Much Impact We Are Having
Over the past four years, the Climate Fair has grown into a well-recognised community event, bringing climate conversations into public spaces through creativity and participation. Organised annually with a new climate theme, the fair attracts more than 5,000 visitors each year, making it one of the region’s largest community-led climate awareness initiatives. Its unique roadside installations encourage thousands of people to pause, reflect, and discuss environmental challenges, while showcasing the use of sustainable, biodegradable, and locally sourced materials. By inviting visitors to complete selected installations, the fair transforms them from passive spectators into active participants, fostering a deeper personal connection with the initiative. Through this blend of art, culture, and community engagement, the Climate Fair continues to turn public spaces into platforms for learning, dialogue, and collective climate action.