Where do nature and the arts collide? Does one not have an effect on the other? Are they distinct realms, comfortable, yet separate, or are they intimately entwined?

Consider the words and work of Rabindranath Tagore, the Bengali poet, painter, and philosopher who once said: “The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.”

Tagore’s creations were often born from a dialogue with nature, not as a passive observer, but as someone in communion with it. For him, the natural world was not merely a backdrop but a breathing, living presence that infused his music, verse, and visual art.

His work reminds us that creativity and connection with the natural world are not separate pursuits but part of the same rhythm.

In the East, as in Tagore’s vision, the arts do not confine nature to stillness. Instead, they mirror its flow, its mystery, and its power to evoke awe. Nature becomes both muse and co-creator, a source of wonder, wisdom, and renewal.

This deep entwinement of nature and art also resonated with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the German writer, scientist, and thinker who believed that nature was the ultimate source of truth and artistic inspiration.

He once wrote, “Nature is always true, serious, and severe; she is always right, and the errors are always those of man.”

For Goethe, nature was not something to be conquered or romanticised from afar, it was a living, dynamic force to be observed, learned from, and co-created with. His holistic view bridged the rational and the poetic, showing that the artist’s role is not to imitate nature, but to enter into a dialogue with it, mirroring its patterns, its wisdom, and its soul.

In the present era, as the ecological crises escalate, nature has found herself in a volatile space, rebelling from the acts of humanity. Artists too, rush to the defence of their muse and have pursued artistic formulae as part of their advocacy, with the objective to protect and preserve.

The arts have the intricate power to make facts seem real. They speak with emotion, backed by sound intellect and vision to tell stories of loss, resilience, and renewal and also connect unapparent dots that data alone cannot convey.

One can imagine it is the gentlest and perhaps the most striking form of activism to influence even the staunchest disbelief of climate change. Creativity, at its core, is both the fabric and the oracle of a society, it weaves the unseen threads of possibility into form, offering visions of what could be. It reveals the soul of a civilisation, casting light not only on its values and contradictions, but also on the futures it dares to imagine.

At Good Life X, the creative industries are honoured as a force that unravels possibility and vision. In 2025, we are catalysing two projects that will shed light on this theme. The Routes we Take: Sri Lanka’s Creative Green Map project focussing on Sri Lanka’s creatives who prioritise sustainable, regenerative and circular practices, and documents such creatives on a digital platform, and celebrated the work of ten established creatives at an exhibition in Colombo last year.

The project has since then grown into a digital network of over a hundred creatives and creative organisations, and continues its valuable work in 2025. This year, new routes are marked as the project takes itself to Kandy, Jaffna, Batticaloa and Galle, for a series of region specific curated programmes to empower the creative green movement throughout the country.

The Creative Catalyst Fellowship programme is also a first of its kind endeavour, bringing together ten visionary creatives on a climate positive Sri Lanka. However, with the suspension of USAID which was the funding entity behind the project, the programme was brought to a halt at 90% completion.

The artists in the fellowship were shaped through long hours of extensive immersion and learning provided to them by expert artists, scientists, relevant creative and environment based mentors, and their final projects are nothing short of breath-taking.

Each project, unified by the creatives’ shared admiration for the beauty of the planet and its people, takes an intricate and detailed approach towards addressing the climate crisis; from photography highlighting the experience of elephants and humans in cohabitation in Sri Lanka, the intersection of ocean plastics and daily life of the coastal communities, a gamified take on ecological engineering, to an innovative mobile space highlighting indigenous communities and knowledge.

As the focus of the international development sector continues to vary, we choose to meet this moment with courage, crafting local solutions grounded in resilience and creativity. It is with this spirit that Good Life X will complete the final phase of this programme by hosting a culminating exhibition at the end of July.

Bringing this vision to life requires collective energy. With just $ 6,000 (Rs. 1.8 million) remaining to make the exhibition a reality, there’s an open invitation for those who feel aligned with this purpose, whether through corporate partnership, private sector support, or personal contribution, to be part of this final leap.

Together, we can shape a regenerative future for Sri Lanka, one rooted in reverence for our seas, our soil, and the culture that connects us all. In a world where knowledge is gated behind paywalls and confined to an inner circle of the privileged, the arts remain a radical force, breaking barriers, dissolving hierarchies, and sending a clear signal to all, no matter who they are or where they come from: The climate crisis is real.

Yet, within this truth lies immense potential. The power to reimagine, to regenerate, and to reshape our future is already in motion. The question is no longer will you rise, but how will you choose to take part in what is already unfolding?

(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.)