'Chill the Heat', run by Rachael Jacobs in Australia, has been commissioned by ITAC as part of our ITAC IMPACT: Climate project.

Acknowledgement of country
The project is conducted on the lands of the Darug or Dharug and Dharawal or Tharawal nations. Sovereignty was never ceded and this was, is and always will be Aboriginal land.  We acknowledge their elders, past, present and emerging and thank them for allowing this work on their country. Every effort will be made to conduct the project respectfully, according to their protocols.  We also acknowledge that climate justice begins with First Nations justice. First Nations people were skilled custodians of this land, living sustainably for tens of thousands of years. Environmental degradation began with the ravages of colonisation. This project aims to centre First Nations knowledge as a way to decolonise thinking about climate justice and environmental protection.

The project:
Darug or Dharug and Dharawal or Tharawal nations comprise parts of Western and South West Sydney where surface temperatures are rising, regularly exceeding 40 degrees in summer, impacting the wellbeing of adults, children and animals. The organisation, Sweltering Cities, has found that the heat has negative impacts upon home life, learning at school, children’s ability to play safely, and adults’ ability to safely travel to and from work. During the summer of 2019/2020 the area was also affected in the Australian bushfires, damaging homes, workplaces, waterways, pets and wildlife. The climate crisis intersects with social justice as this region is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse in Australia. It is also home to many vulnerable and marginalised communities and pockets of low socio-economic disadvantage.

Rachael Jacobs is a Creative Arts lecturer and community artist from Western Sydney University. Working with Sweltering Cities, she will engage 5 artists to draw attention to the issue of surface temperatures in South Western Sydney.
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