Threads Tell the Story – When Climate Change Speaks Through Craft
As part of the Environmental Communication Conference 2025, hosted by Mistra Environmental Communication research programme in Uppsala, Sweden, SALAR International presented the exhibition "Threads tell the Story" aiming to reflect the lived ecperiences of communities in Iraq facing the impacts of climate change.
The conference, held under the theme "Storytelling as, and for, Sustainability," brought together researchers, practitioners, and creatives to explore the role of storytelling in sustainability transitions. SALAR International´s exhibition, within the framwork of the LOGDEVI project, contributed to this dialogue by offering a visual and emotional lens on climate change—centering stories of lived experience, cultural memory, and resilience in Iraq.
The event focused on the power of storytelling to communicate environmental challenges, foster empathy, and amplify voices that are often underrepresented in traditional climate discourse.
SALAR International are proud to share the exhibition, Threads Tell the Story, which brings together traditional rug-making, painting, and storytelling to reflect the lived experiences of communities in Iraq facing the impacts of climate change. Each handwoven rug, paired with a painting and a written story, tells a powerful narrative of water scarcity, drought, displacement, and resilience.
What makes this project even more meaningful is the collaboration with elderly and vulnerable women artisans—widows, divorcees, and survivors of displacement—through the Khawla Bint Al-Azwar Feminist Association in Iraq.
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Yama Omari, Project Manager for LOGDEVI, SALAR International
New ways to engage with environmental change
This exhibition is not just about climate awareness—it’s about connection, about making invisible stories visible, and about inviting new ways to engage with environmental change through culture and craft.
Climate change doesn’t only need to be measured—it needs to be felt. And sometimes, the most powerful way to feel is through something as familiar and human .
We look forward to bringing this exhibition to new spaces, new audiences, and continuing to weave climate stories into public conversations.
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