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e199 judi pearl - an ineffable shift
Season 5 Episode 199
- The role of the artist in the climate crisis is not simply to communicate scientific information in a sort of dressed up kind of way, but really to engage the imagination to do that thing that only art can do, which is getting at these almost imperceptible shifts in identity, in purpose and meaning, and the way that we as humans think about our relationship with the natural world and our place in it. It’s ineffable, that kind of shift. If that’s not the role of art, I don't know what is.
Judi Pearl has been a passionate environmentalist since her early teens here in Ottawa, unceded Algonquin-Anishinaabe lands.
In addition to her long-standing role with the English Theatre Department at the National Arts Centre, Judi formerly served on the boards of The Only Animal theatre company and the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres also known as PACT.
Judi is also a co-founder, along with myself, Anjali Appadurai, Robin Sokoloski, David Maggs, Kendra Fanconi and Anthony Garoufalis-Auger of SCALE (Sectoral Climate Arts Leadership for the Emergency), a non-profit network of artists, cultural practitioners, and arts organisations committed to addressing the climate emergency. This organization was founded in 2021, where Judi was also the Operations Lead until 2023. You can learn about SCALE by listening to its current leader of SCALE, Annette Hegel, in e176 art as a tactic.
At the NAC, Judi has produced large-scale projects such as Grand Acts of Theatre, Stages of Transformation, the NAC Hip Hop Theatre Festival, the annual ceremony for the Siminovitch Prize (2016-2020) as well as Family Day (2011-2015), among many others. She was also the recipient of the CEO’s Award of Excellence in 2020. Well deserved, I’m sure.
My first conversation with Judi (e59 pearl – positive tipping points) took place during a walk in the park here in Ottawa where we talked about theatre, the climate emergency, collaboration, arts leadership, the intersection of arts and sustainability and elusive positive tipping points. I invite you to listen back to that episode:
- SCALE is really trying to become that gathering place that will engender that high level collaboration, which hopefully will create those positive tipping points.
Fast forward 3 years later and Judi has a new title at NAC English Theatre ‘Associate Producer, Artistic Programming and Environmental Projects’, which points to her long standing leadership role on environmental issues at the NAC and in the arts sector in general.
Judi’s work these days has an increased focus on artistic programming such as the Irresistible Neighbourhoods, a multi-year play development project centered on themes of climate and sustainability, which nurtures both emerging and established playwrights to imagine alternative visions for the neighbourhoods they call home and I invite you to go all the way back to the second episode of this season, e155, where you can hear Sanita Fejzić talk about her Irresistible Neighbourhoods radio play Machines and Moss. When I first Sanita’s play I was blown away. I loved it.