Desert Dreams & Climate Reality: A Mural About Resilience & What We Risk Losing

Climate awareness art as an ode to nature’s persistence and a call for action.

Location: Tsagaandelger Soum, Mongolia
Size: 42m²
Medium: Spray paint on Concrete
Funding: EU / EUNIC (cultural diplomacy)
Support: MCASA–Mongolian Contemporary Art Support Association, Alliance Française Ulaanbataar, the Austrian Embassy, the Finnish Embassy in Beijing, Goethe-Institut Mongolia
Theme: Climate crisis, resilience, native desert flowers
Impact: Hope + cultural connection in a remote climate-affected village

Welcome to Mongolia’s smallest village, population 400, and declining due to climate change.
In the summer 2025, I was selected to represent Finland in the Nomad Spirit Program in Red Corner Residency, an international initiative funded by EUNIC–European Union National Institutes for Culture, one of the biggest milestones of my artistic career thus far.

Painting in the middle of a desert was a dream come true, although I wish the need for this initiative was different. Gobi Desert weather extremes vary from summer temperatures that can frequently soar above 40°C to winter lows around -40°C. Severe droughts have contributed to increased desertification. Thus, climate change has driven 35% of the population of Tsagaandelger Soum away.

My mural, ‘Petals in the Sand,’ depicts flowers native to Mongolia: small, resilient species that survive extreme conditions. At first glance, they appear fragile, but when you look closely, you see their quiet strength. I wanted to tell a story about endurance and the delicate balance between humans and nature. My mural is a tribute to resilience, a call for connection, and a reminder that we share this planet. We must care for it together. It’s all we have.

The project reached over 1 million people through media, fostered lasting cultural exchange, local skill development, and provided a platform for environmental awareness. The EUNIC Mongolia stated that “with new collaborations and inspired youth, Nomad Spirit 2025 demonstrates that art is a powerful tool to engage communities with climate challenges.”
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Art can bring attention to places where climate change is not an abstract idea but a lived reality. Art can start a dialogue and convey hope.

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