Spreading awareness with coal

Junior Cristina Vanko never thought a class project could reach as far as New Zealand.

The goal of her assignment was simple: to spread climate-change awareness everywhere she possibly could.

Vanko, also an Indiana Daily Student editorial cartoonist, printed more than 1,000 stickers that read “I am coal” and sent them to family and friends around the world. She asked them to stick them on anything that used electricity and e-mail a photo to her. The stickers appeared throughout New Zealand, Japan, Peru and even Iraq and continue to spread across the world.

The project for her class, “Making Engaged Art: Response in Intervention on Climate Change,” functioned as part of the Canary Project in the IU School of Fine Arts. The Canary Project, originally based in New York, aimed to create visual media, events and engaging artwork that fostered public awareness of climate change and solutions. Its founders, Edward Morris and Susannah Sayler, taught the course as guest instructors at IU.

“Cristina’s project drew attention to how we make connections between energy sources and how we use them,” Morris said. “She did such a good job of developing a good spirit of involvement.”

Although the movement continues with another set of 1,000 newly printed stickers, Vanko’s success has not come without controversy.

But negative feedback was still beneficial, Vanko said.

“Some people were angry about the vandalism, but at least they took the time to think about the project and what is was about, even if they were unhappy with it,” she said. “It still spread some awareness and knowledge, and that was what I wanted.”

Vanko said the phrase “I am coal” represented how people could control their energy use and change wasteful actions. Although the project had commonly been referred to as “smart vandalism,” Vanko said it is more about climate-change information than anything.

“I just want people to know that every little thing you do does count in your daily life,” she said.

As an art student, Vanko said she often struggled with finding the “driving force” behind making art and that her experience with the Canary Project felt like her first real art project.

“It was the first project I really felt passionate about,” Vanko said. “It showed me that I have the potential to make change.”

Although she initially planned to stop the movement after her project was completed, Vanko said she now wants to keep it spreading as long as possible. The project was accepted into the “Process Impact” national art show in Kentucky and will soon appear in The Green Patriot Poster published by the Canary project.

“I really lucked out when I picked this class,” Vanko said. “I had no idea this would have spread like it did.”