Frugal Artist-in-Residence Programme For Playful And Co-creative Community Engagement In Environmental Awareness And Impact (FAiR)

FAiR will promote environmental awareness and practice in coastal fishing communities in Malaysia, utilising community-centred playful art-based approaches to embed scientific research in environmental conservation. FAiR will engage new communities to stimulate co-creativity and social responsibility toward the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), strengthening connections with their coastal environment and inspiring future generations to become stewards of the land and sea.

Based on AHRC and ESRC-funded collaborations between Coventry University (CU) and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), FAiR utilises research into Arts in STEM (STEAM) design practices, taking playful and frugal principles to new audiences within Malaysia’s rural communities. Original STEAM research methodologies emphasise the importance of situated co-creativity, embedded within communities, to generate sustainable long-term impact. New impacts will be created by extending these STEAM research methodologies to coastal communities through artist residencies, collaborating with new stakeholders: the Malaysian Society for Marine Sciences, Village Development and Security Committee, and NeighbourhoodCommunity (KJM Salak) of Kuching North City.

FAiR will engage with Malaysian Salak-Santubong Bay fishing communities. They are resilient inhabitants in a rural developing region at the fringe of a rapidly growing Kuching city. In this region and waterways, coastal rubbish levels indicate poor waste management, resulting in severe repercussions on the coastal environment, its villagers, and the fishermen.

Furthermore, socioeconomic constraints within the communities impact young people and their access to resources and opportunities for STEM education. Poverty and limited educational infrastructure hinder STEM education programmes development in this region. To address this issue, FAiR provides empathic STEAM approaches through community-centred artist-in-residence as an innovative engagement methodology for communities and scientists to co-create with artists, producing fresh perspectives on scientific research and environmental conservation efforts.

Objectives
1. Foster co-creativity within local communities for environmental awareness and practice by extending collaborative STEAM initiatives facilitated by local and student artists. FAiR will provide access to research which will be incorporated into community initiatives. Original STEAM methodologies are proven to be effective in promoting change in practice. Examples that respond to SDGs (‘clean water’, ‘life below water’, ‘no poverty’, and ‘sustainable communities’) include:

arts installations, e.g., playful artwork from plastic waste;
functional installations, e.g., water fi ltration and playful artifi cialreef design using reusable materials;
commercial products, e.g., crafts and souvenirs.
FAiR will produce beach festivals, co-creation activities, and art installations designed to stimulate knowledge/practice exchange, community-centred practices, and dialogues on environmental issues.

2. Evaluate the impact of the approach, establishing a sustainable engagement model to be extended to other communities. FAiR will demonstrate the transformative role of arts in education and community engagement, and the benefits to fostering socio-cultural, environmental, and economic development.

FAiR will create sustainable community-driven initiatives bridging arts and STEM, aligned with UN-SDGs. By pooling local artists, communities, and scientists, FAiR offers opportunities to promote change in environmental conversations and practices. Young people will gain hands-on experience in various STEM fields such as marine biology, ecology, and climate science, nurturing a sense of ownership and responsibility for their rapidly changing coastal environment.

FAiR will promote environmental awareness and practice in coastal fishing communities in Malaysia, utilising community-centred playful art-based approaches to embed scientific research in environmental conservation. FAiR will engage new communities to stimulate co-creativity and social responsibility toward the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), strengthening connections with their coastal environment and inspiring future generations to become stewards of the land and sea.