Audience members crowded Emerson’s Semel Theater Tuesday night, ready to take notes and ask questions to the former Prime Minister of New Zealand where she sat in conversation about the intersection of climate action and the arts.

ArtsEmerson hosted The Whole Story: Climate Change and the Arts, a discussion on “our changing world.” The former Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and award winning playwright and Fresh Sound Artist-in-Residence Sarah Ruhl were featured panelists while Emerson’s Senior Artist-in-Residence P. Carl moderated the discussion. 

Throughout her time as prime minister from 2017 to 2023, Ardern said one of her main focuses was “the role of arts, culture, and heritage in nation building.” 

“Also, it gave me the excuse to go to the theater,” she joked. 

Referencing President Donald Trump’s recent self appointment to Board Chair of the Kennedy Center, she added “it’s very different than assigning yourself the head of an arts organization.”

During her time in politics, she became known globally as an effective fighter against climate change, establishing a Zero Carbon Act, an independent Climate Commission, and the Centre for Climate Action on Agricultural Emissions for New Zealand.

Ruhl is currently working on an opera called “The Seasons,” which opens Mar. 12 at the Robert J. Orchard Stage in Emerson’s Paramount Center. It is based on Vivaldi’s violin concerto “The Four Seasons,” and tells the story of five artists who are forced to grapple with climate change.

“I was really interested in the idea that in Vivaldi’s moment, the seasons were a sign of harmony and you could expect them to come around, cyclically,” she said. 

Ruhl and Ardern both agreed that in today’s global climate emergency, this is no longer the case. 

“How can I just write another play when this emergency is going on?” Ruhl said. “The opera I’m making is in no way a morality tale about politics … my hope is that if we could feel our feelings about the weather, maybe we would do something about what’s going on.”

When asked about the innovative, climate friendly, set design “The Seasons” will use, Ruhl said “it didn’t make sense to do an opera about extreme weather and then build a massive [set.]” 

In the winter act, large bubble machines will make soap appear as snow, a sustainable way to convey an extreme weather event. 

“We’ll know more in tech,” she said, drawing laughter from the audience.

Ardern also spoke about New Zealand’s indigenous population. 

The country’s Māori people have a principle called “kaitiakitanga,” which Ardern described as “the idea that we are guardians of the earth, the land, and the sea from the time in which we are on it.” She added, “Our guardianship means handing it over to the next generation in a better state than we found it.”

Both Ruhl and Ardern emphasized the need to remain hopeful in the fight against climate change. 

“The importance of a sense of optimism … is that without it, we run the risk of indifference … optimism is a courageous act,” Ardern said. “Storytelling is so critical to this. It moves people in a way that sometimes facts can’t.”

“I feel, sometimes, numb and helpless when I think about climate change, and I think many of us do,” Ruhl said in response. “I feel like art has the potential to make people feel something.”

After answering questions from Carl, the panel was opened up to audience questions. Emerson students, professors, and non-Emerson community members alike lined up at the two microphones in front of the panelists. One audience member asked if Ardern thought climate actions similar to New Zealand’s could, or would ever be taken in the United States. 

“One thing that I know is universal is that when your sense of community and humanity is challenged, that is actually when the light sometimes starts to break through,” she answered.

Changing the subject slightly, Ardern brought up the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, the deadliest mass killing in New Zealand’s history.

“I have never seen such acts of courage, grace, and humility as I saw come from our Muslim community in the wake of that,” she said. “In response, New Zealanders at large wrapped their arms around the community and everyone collectively grieved.”

“In that moment of utter darkness, I just saw such beauty from people,” she added.

Speaking about the current state of climate action in the United States, Ruhl said that “we live in such a big country, it’s overwhelming,” and advised audience members to “find circles that are small enough that you can see each other.”

“There are beautiful people in this country, you just have to let them shine.” Ardern added.