Can art change the world? Or can it at least inspire people to engage with an urgent issue they'd otherwise be inclined to ignore?

A new study of activist art about climate change suggests that art can be an effective form of activism—if artists create compelling works that call attention to the problem and offer hope for a solution.

Artworks that achieve this tricky balance "have the potential to retell the stories of climate change in a way that activates the slumbering potential in our societies," write Laura Kim Sommer and Christian A. Klöckner of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

The researchers explored public reactions to works of visual art that were exhibited as part of ArtCOP21—a festival that coincided with the 2015 United Nations climate change conference in Paris.

They collected data from 874 people who looked at 37 artworks that were part of the exhibit. The pieces were spread around the city of Paris, in museums, galleries, and public outdoor spaces. "A majority of people did not know they were visiting an environmental art festival," the researchers note; many were simply passing by and came across one of the pieces by chance.

Read the full article about how art inspires climate action by Tom Jacobs at Pacific Standard.