AnthroArt – Action for People and Planet is an initiative of three applied anthropology organisations – Antropedia, Namla and Ambigrama – that aims to create an international platform for connecting anthropology and art, with the purpose of deepening awareness about inequality and our relation with the environment and driving change across three geographies: Romania, The Netherlands and Portugal, as well as beyond.

Antropedia, Namla and Ambigrama believe that anthropology – the comparative study of cultures and groups of people – has the potential to bring positive change in the world. Unfortunately too often, valuable knowledge produced by anthropologists does not reach far beyond the academic world, and does not actualize its potential for change. We want to create bridges  – by translating anthropological knowledge into accessible information, into art, and into solutions through design thinking, we want to contribute to the pressing issues of our time. 

Our actions are centered around three themes: Social Inclusion (focus of 2023), Sustainability (focus of 2024), and the Social Self (cross-cutting). Inequality in various forms is one of the pressing challenges of our time and this is why AnthroArt involves action for People. Creating a sustainable future depends on how we understand and change our relation with the environment, and this is why AnthroArt involves action for the Planet.

Beyond the valuable insights that anthropology brings about the challenges we face as a society, the discipline also helps us gain a better understanding of ourselves. The cross-cutting theme of the Social Self raises awareness about the ways in which society shapes us and the many norms and stereotypes we sometimes come to take for granted as who we are. This process of reflection helps us connect to each other in more meaningful ways.

We bring anthropology into the spotlight

We call for anthropologists – academics and practitioners – to reflect on their long-term research and applied projects and write short articles for a general audience. Each text will be recorded as a podcast and will become a source of inspiration for an artist who will create a unique illustration. We have a strong focus on the applied potential of anthropology and we aim to use anthropology’s insights for solving problems in the real world. We do that through bootcamps – interdisciplinary workshops where anthropologists and artists will be guided in a process of exploration and problem-solving to come up with actual ideas and initiatives on how to create societies that are more inclusive and have a more sustainable relation with the environment.

We bring art and artists into the spotlight

We inspire and support the creation of art and we showcase the works of illustrators, graphic designers and artists from Romania, Portugal and the Netherlands. All of our articles will be accompanied by editorial illustrations and during each bootcamp, the process and results will be translated into different forms of visual narratives: from illustrations to comic strips and street art, as well as skits enacted by actors in short video-clips. These creative expressions will be brought to the public through exhibitions, conferences, via social and traditional media, as well as through more permanent markers such as physical murals in the cities of Bucharest and Coimbra.