Bengaluru-based artist and activist Namita Kulkarni’s painting series ‘Colonialism and the Climate Crisis’ is being exhibited at the United Nations headquarters in New York as part of the Canvas of Change exhibition, running from June 5 to July 10. The series examines the connections between colonial systems, environmental destruction, and climate injustice, developed after Kulkarni studied how colonial-era extractive practices contributed to ecological damage and continue to affect vulnerable communities. The project was supported by the International Centre for Advocates Against Discrimination (ICAAD) through its Artivism initiative, which provided a grant and creative freedom.
The exhibition matters because it brings an artist’s perspective on climate change as a human rights issue to a global diplomatic stage, highlighting historical roots often overlooked in mainstream climate discussions focused solely on carbon emissions and offsets. Kulkarni’s work also amplifies indigenous perspectives and environmental inequalities, gaining further relevance after the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (2022) explicitly cited colonialism as a historical and ongoing factor in the climate crisis. This showcases how visual art can influence policy discourse and public awareness at the United Nations.