Franque Michele Bains
- Film
- Sep 8, 2023
- 2 min read
Film + Photography/ Climate
In response to the governor’s energy summit, the People’s Energy Movement had been organizing a counter convening in response to the Governor’s Energy Summit held here in Salt Lake City, UT since 2017. In 2020 in the midst of a pandemic and the burnout folks were experiencing in organizing for racial justice, we didn’t have it in us to convene in the same way we had done in the past. We needed a new way to channel our angst and dismay over the story of climate change and the way it is affecting our communities here in Utah. We decided to get creative.
I co-authored a creative fiction piece with activist Colin Green and from there, we chose to perform what we were envisioning. This performance art was held in counter to the energy summit rather than our traditional rally and workshops. Performing the piece was powerful and sheer medicine for us. It was transformative to take a moment to collectively create a piece of art to express what we were feeling. It changed us in a way that imprinted into our bodies through movement, singing, and collective creative enactment and collaboration. It’s got me convinced that we need more ways to infuse art into our movement work.
Colin Green is an environmental activist from Salt Lake City. He hopes to inspire folks to ask hard questions and come together to find solutions. His background is in peacebuilding, environmental sustainability, and exploring the West’s wild spaces.
Franque Bains is a storyteller, a passionate organizer, a google doc slayer, and a grain-free aficionado. She is convinced that the key to happiness is bringing your ideas to life and helping others do the same. She currently works to build community through storytelling in Salt Lake City.
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