Liz Smith, James Miller and Louis VI [Alice Horsley]

WE have to pay the artists making radical art, an audience at the London COP was told on Saturday afternoon.

Louis VI, the Kentish Town rapper, told the room that artists making “radical art” need to be paid properly

“The Taylor Swifts and the Drakes made their success off this system and this institution that is killing the world, so of course they’re not going to speak out against it. They’re terrified of losing £1 within the billions they get.

“You can’t rely on the people who have made it, because they’re going to want the status quo to remain for as long as possible. There are a few outliers there, and a few amazing people who do go against that grain, but, what we need now is a radical change of the paradigm,” he said.

He added: “We need culture to change because we’re losing culture. We’re losing our connection to the planet. We’re losing all the non-human beings on this planet, that we’re only just starting to understand. I’m from Dominica in the Caribbean … where they’re using AI to try and work out what the whales are saying, and speak to the sperm whales, which is amazing.

“So, how much culture, from whales, from birds, do we stand to lose that we haven’t even learned about yet?

“If you’ve got pockets to reach into, then look. It’s not hard to find artists across the board that are doing interesting things that are making imaginations really set off and fire. Because it is getting to the point that you’re not going to have artists anymore because it’s not a viable way to live. There is no money. I mean nothing.”

Liz Smith, a human rights documentary filmmaker who has been arrested while filming protesters, said that her work was a “critical” part of “holding power to account”.

James Miller, author, academic, and co-founder of Writers Rebel, called for better funding for the arts in university.

“Universities are making these gestures about embedding sustainability in the curriculum. But, when I put in an application [for funding] saying I’d like to interview lots of people from XR or JSO to try and write a book about the movement, a social history of social change that way, it gets turned down.”

He added: “I hope that some kind of tipping point is going to come in all of this. Certainly, I think very soon writers will realise that their books one way or another are actually about the climate crisis, but we’re not there yet.”

The LDNCOP

The LDNCOP was the Tribune trying to help to break down the complex and often overwhelming issue of the climate crisis for a wide audience. Every talk at the London Irish Centre on Saturday was packed and the fantastic line-up of speakers helped stir debate and discussion. We must say a big thank you to all of them who gave up their Saturday afternoon to be there. Maybe all of this is beyond the remit of what is expected of a parochial local newspaper. We’ve never accepted that label – and our roots are in campaigning, investigation and service to our readers. Of the latter, it was no surprise to find so many fully engaged with the event. Thank you for coming.