About Earth Arts

Earth Arts is a program created by the Australian Earth Laws Alliance (AELA).

AELA is a national not-for-profit organisation working to increase the understanding and practical implementation of Earth centred governance (or ‘Earth jurisprudence’) in Australia. AELA works at the intersection of law, economics, education, philosophy, ethics and the decolonization of western knowledge, to guide systems change towards ecocentric and life-focused societies.

AELA believes that creativity, imagination and cultural change is a vital part of building Earth centred governance, and Earth-centred societies. The need for new governance systems has never been greater: as we face a climate changed world and transition away from our destructive reliance of fossil fuels, human societies need to create new ways of working together and nurturing the wider Earth community.

In modern times, ‘Art’ is often relegated to the fringes, not as a knowledge source, but as an ‘extra’, a romantic ideal. So it may not seem obvious that Art should be represented at a ‘governance roundtable’, but that is precisely where it can help at this point in our global environmental crisis. Artists are creators, shape shifters, translators, provocateurs, we are comfortable with the messy, primal, uncertain and unknown. Art plays a vital role in awakening our emotional connection to the natural world, stimulating a sense of awe and connection, moving us to invest in actions to protect and advocate for our planet, and by doing so, ourselves.

Since 2014, the Earth Arts program has been hosting biennial exhibitions, imaginative processes and creative conversations. In 2026, the theme for our biennial program is ‘Kinship’. See our Call for Participation to find out how you can participate in Earth Arts 2026.

If you are a creative and interested in getting involved, sharing your ideas or you’re simply curious about how Earth Jurisprudence links art + governance, we’d love to hear from you – this is an open and emergent space.

For more information, please email – [email protected]

Connect with Earth Arts

Current Projects

Further Ways to Engage With AELA Earth Arts

Behind the scenes we’re constantly researching ideas, collaborating across the country and around the world, working with interns and volunteers, and developing new projects in conjunction with AELA members. These are the main areas we focus on and we’d be happy to talk to you about research, consultancy and collaborative opportunities:

Working to connect arts and Earth-centred governance
  • Contributing creative practice and knowledge to ongoing work around Earth Laws, Earth jurisprudence, Indigenous First Laws, Bioregional governance, Local/Earth-centred economies,  Decolonising knowledge, and more.
  • Habitat & Governance – contributing a creative lens to research Earth-centred governance structures and their implementation for bioregional ecosystem health.
  • Other topics are being developed in conjunction with AELA members
Collaborative events
  • Bringing artists, lawyers, scientists and other professions together for creative projects.

Past Events and Projects

Please click on the links below to find out more about our projects in previous years:

  • 2024 – Creative Conversations
  • 2022 – Tipping Points
  • 2020 – Voices of Nature
  • 2018 – RONA (Rights of Nature Australia)
  • 2018 – Earth Arts Retreat – Chenrezig, June 2018
  • 2016 – RONA (Rights of Nature Australia)
  • 2014 – Earth Leaders Lab, Bundanon NSW – In conjunction with Bundanon Siteworks, AELA worked with De Quincey Co and Lean Productions to run a 1 day workshop that brought people together from the arts, education, law, science and architecture, to explore how our different professional traditions engage with caring for the Earth.  Our National Convenor, Michelle Maloney, also joined a panel facilitated by ABC journalist Robin Williams, and AELA Project Manager Jules Livingstone led workshop discussions with Bundanon participants about Earth laws topics.
  • 2013 – Wild Law Art Exhibition  This art exhibition was created in partnership with Professor Marian Drew and her colleagues and students at the Griffith University College of Art.  It opened in conjunction with AELA’s 2013 Wild Law Conference, titled “Living within our Ecological Limits – Law and Governance for a Finite World”.
  • 2012 – Wild Law Arts Incubator, Sydney.  In partnership with De Quincey Co. This workshop was organised by De Quincey Co, to bring Earth lawyers, indigenous community leaders and artists together to explore Earth jurisprudence. AELA’s National Convenor Dr Michelle Maloney gave a talk and led workshop discussions at the event.

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