Hour of Decision: A Cycle of Four Elements

University of Utah graduate students join in a time of climate crisis to mourn, to witness our present realities, and to imagine our futures and the future of the planet we share. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, we draw on our experiences and backgrounds as creative individuals, bringing together a diversity of perspectives and approaches to the climate crisis. This is one of the powers of artistic endeavor: to connect us to each other and to our own humanity. Climate change is the reckoning of our time and our entire species, and we will need to face it with an unprecedented unity. In response, our collaboration consists of four immersive performances, arranged under the classical elements: earth, air, water and fire. As one manifestation of shared effort, we hope it prompts the decisions necessary to positively impact the future of our planet.

We’re partnering with ASUU Sustainability. The ASUU Sustainability Board serves to promote and enable sustainable practices for students, as well as implement sustainable action at the University and local level through partnerships and collaboration at all levels of the community. Visit Resources for U of U Students.

Projects were made possible with Digital Content Helix LLC, a one-stop facilitator for audiovisual ideas. Find them on Facebook. This event is supported in part by Fine Arts Fees and University Composers Collective.

Explore the elements below to view each project.

Earth

Encounter a landscape fragmented with poetry, music, and dance that engages resource extraction and loss.

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Air

Explore the immersive, harsh realities of air pollution in an abstract audiovisual experience, transformed through the inversion of ambient musical textures and poetic lines.

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Water

Immerse yourself in a VR, audiovisual simulation of an extreme weather event and the subconscious anxieties around water scarcity.

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Fire

How might fire motivate change and renewal? A 360° video and ambient score interwoven with poetry carve out a space for these considerations.

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