Art and Creativity to Change Mindsets for a Green Future

Manisha Gupta, Artist, writer and poet, international award-winning screenwriter, filmmaker and animator, IP professional, trainer and mediator, New Delhi, India

The theme of World Intellectual Property Day 2020, “Innovation for a Green Future,” is very timely and relevant especially in light of the current global COVID-19 pandemic. If we haven’t started on our journey towards a green future already, now is the time to do so. But before we can change anything else, we have to change ourselves, our habits and our mindsets. After all, “it’s all in the mind,” as George Harrison of The Beatles said so long ago!

How do you change your mind? What is it that influences the mind?

As an artist and filmmaker, I believe art and cinema in their many forms are two very significant tools of creativity that have the power to change minds and mindsets and thereby the future of the world. These two visual mediums of direct and subtle communication have the authority to influence humanity as a whole. Therefore, if the world wishes to chart a green future, art and film are excellent vehicles to communicate effectively the changes in behavior that we envisage for society.

People will emulate what is depicted in any art form or cinematic vision, including animation. I suggest the concept of ‘GREEN HEROES’; whether artists promoting a green and eco-friendly lifestyle through their works; filmmakers depicting the advantages and rewards of green behavior through their films; or animators fostering a green culture through the acts of super-hero characters, these three aspects of creativity, each backed with intellectual property (IP) rights, of course, will be a great boost in nurturing green lifestyles among all age brackets and strata of society.

With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it is high time for us all to think about sustainability – of the environment, the planet and ourselves. Our survival depends on our ability to get through this current global crisis and to change our attitudes about how we consume nature’s resources. Over the past months, as the world has been in lock down, pollution levels have declined significantly, the air is much cleaner, demonstrating what we can and need to do to respect and care for the natural environment, our home. So green is the way to go. Innovate and create by all means and for a cleaner, greener future.

As we walk into the future, we all need to reflect on how our actions have an impact on the health of our environment and our planet. Let all us creative professionals take a vow to endorse and foster green behavior through our creative efforts and champion the cause of a green future for the benefit of humanity.

That is what I have sought to do in depicting this very theme through my oil-on-canvas painting entitled "IPR for a Green Future".