The KW Youth Climate Council is a growing group project of young climate activists, artists, and change-makers here in Kitchener-Waterloo. We aim to make a difference in our community by transforming litter from community clean-ups and litter reduction efforts into artwork and public installations! 

Last fall we successfully launched the pilot of our project/program; held three local clean-ups at Victoria Park, McLennan Park, and Lakeside Park; recruited over 25 volunteers, collected more than 130 pounds, 35 full bags, 183 Plastic Bottles, & 177 Aluminum Cans. (among much much more)

From this, we designed and created 6 life-sized sculptures made from chicken wire and the salvaged material from our clean-ups, and displayed them in the former product displays on the side of the Market Square building in Downtown Kitchener (Frederick St). 

Marcel Duchamp - Ready Mades

The idea of taking human-made objects and creating artwork from them is not an idea new to the KW YCC. From Marcel Duchamp to Jose Luis Torres, and many other historical and contemporary examples, we've been inspired to take the "obsolete waste" of today and decontextualize it into modern-day human artifacts that promote and encourage climate awareness and creative climate action. 

Where there lies an abundance of material and an urgent litter problem to solve, there also lies an abundance of opportunity for creation if we allow ourselves to push the boundary of what we consider "beautiful art". Though perhaps in this context, the purpose is not to be beautiful but to be impactful.