Special edition of It’s Freezing in LA! presents effective ways of engaging with the climate crisis

Since 2018 the independent magazine It’s Freezing in LA! has been publishing thoughtful climate writing, seeking out creative ways of engaging with some of the most pressing environmental issues. In its five years it has seen 9 editions, all of which focus on broad themes – from regeneration, greenwashing and borders to humans and ecology – and in 2021 released its first series of audiobooks, followed by a second earlier this year. Now, the magazine has published its first special edition: Visible Signs That Something Isn’t Right: Creative Responses to the Climate Crisis.

At its core, the publication is “designed to explore the boundaries of climate communication”, a press release explains. Recognising just how inundated the climate movement has become with “increasingly tired images and symbols” – like the reliance on visuals of penguins, polar bears, floods and fires, and tokenistic “corporate inaction and sluggish conferences” – the special edition instead showcases more effective and actionable responses.

With a mix of creative writing, images and essays, the publication includes a wealth of thought-provoking contributions. It includes writers Lucy Zhang and Samantha Cheh’s short stories about rampaging tigers and poisoned waters, designer and writer Anoushka Khandwala’s piece on the iconography of “natural” disaster, intricate drawings of ecosystems from Mogaje Guihu, and journalist Daniel Milroy Maher’s article on climate photography.

On the special edition, IFLA!’s director Martha Dillon says, “I can’t think of a single article in It’s Freezing in LA! magazine that hasn’t been influenced by people making, imagining and creating in the face of the climate emergency. And yet, it’s so difficult to answer the simple question ‘what does art do for climate action?’ So, we wanted to pin down a slice of possible responses. Visible Signs That Something Isn’t Right is a collection of some of the many creative projects and ideas about the climate emergency that have resonated with us.”

It is designed alongside Open Practice, and is in partnership with What Design Can Do, “an organisation that seeks to accelerate the transition to a sustainable, fair and just society using the power of design”. It is available for purchase from IFLA!’s website for £9 print or £4.50 digital, and will be available on Newsstand from 26th June for orders outside of the UK.